White Tear Stained Memories
by Alice XThe Little SisterX
Summary: N has defeated White and he is ready to do what he was destined to, free the pokemon, rule as king. But something has gone wrong. Waking up in a place that he has never seen before with the a hazy memory, N is told there are no pokemon and he is from a game, what is going on? N is in our world without pokemon...Shit. Swearing/violence/dark themes/Lemons/Fluff/OC. Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1 My Normal Life

_Alice's Notes.  
Okay...uh...first chapter...kinda short now that I look at it but no matter! The show must go on ENJOY!  
And OH GOD I make OC's pop out so very quickly!  
Also I am using a new format for my stories, tell me if you like this one or if you want a different layout.  
The name to this story might change, it's called that so it lines up with the sequel I have in mind...I plan ahead a little bit.  
Although the name is a little depressing the story should have lots of Fluff and funny stuff to.  
I don't own Pokemon or N. T-T God I wish...  
~Diary~  
'Thoughts_

...

Chapter 1: My Normal Life.

Alice.

_~I have a normal life.  
__My name is Alice, I am a girl, and my name is Alicia Orish Mau.__  
I go to high school every day, I am a normal girl without any amazing physical interests, and I have no amazing talents or adventures to go one. Normal._  
_Funny about that most people do have normal lives so I probably shouldn't be surprised that I do also.  
Today was especially normal, I went to school today. I got there ten minutes before the bell.  
After that I went to my English class, Freddy was hitting on Macie again and I don't think she liked it very much, she kept squirming. Must have been his cheesy jokes._

_Lora cut her finger in cooking today, the blood was all over the table, it must have been deep. I wonder if she is alright now.  
My PE teacher was looking at me funny again today; he looks funny at all the girls. He is still fairly young...a bit too young to be a paedophile but he still is.  
Class 3A smelt off again today, the class before us must be rather stinky.  
Camellia and her friends talked to me again today, today they used a metaphor about me, and I don't think they knew it was that though. They were just saying cruel things. They used a book to hit me today, last time it was a ruler. I like the ruler better I think._

_I have to remember to finish off my maths work, I can't come home with another B or mother will be angry.  
I forgot to turn off my DS today, I hope that it doesn't run out of charge before I save it. My Eevee is close to evolving so I got to save it quickly.  
The buss I am on right now is really loud, people are chatting.  
I think that Rose is trying to talk to me right now so I should speak to her.~_

Shutting the little diary that she had she turned back to look towards her best friend that was entertained by her music on a seat behind her, the bus gave a sharp lurch of undesired motion that made Alice turn back to the front. Her fingers ran over the front of the book she had, it was worn and the pages discoloured and she loved it very much.

She never wrote long about anything, it was always just little notes that she jotted down about the world around her.  
When she started that page with 'I have a normal life' she wasn't quite sure why she had started with that, it was almost as if she was complaining to her own diary that she was bored with her current situation. Opening the book back up she looked at some past pages, nothing immediately caught her attention though.

"What are you always scribbling down in there?" Asked a curious voice from over her shoulder, jumping she turned to see Rose smiling devilishly down at her, she had snuck out of her seat to look down at Alice. Closing the book with a quick snap she smiled slightly getting a pout out of Rose.  
"You're not going to tell me are you?"

"Not a chance." She replied confidently getting a wail of despair from her blonde haired companion who hugged her over the seat, pressing her down into the cushioned back of the chair and drawing the attention of a grumpy bus driver that had felt with far too many children in his day.

"Why won't you tell me these things! You're so cute come on share, share!" Her train of thought just bounced about so rapidly, Alice was hard pressed to follow her but she knew she wasn't going to show her the diary.

It was almost just to annoy her friend but it was also a case of privacy so she didn't let up even as Rose began to shake her in her seat, the bus driver finally barked at her to sit back down and she was back in her seat before he had even finished shouting the order. She was an energetic little thing and she never hated anyone around them, she loved everyone and that was probably why she liked Alice at all, it was because she could actually do it unlike other people.

Alice was aware that she was an observer, she didn't have a personality that was notable and she wasn't amazing at anything, everything she did she did well but never tried harder to achieve more. Alice was content to travel through life in this state, she didn't need to be outstanding...she just had to be able to get through life.

That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy anything...Alice loved Pokémon after all. It was a childish thing to love at the age of sixteen but she couldn't draw herself away from it. Back at her home she had all the games that had come out and she had completed all of them three times or more.

The only thing she had left to do was completely the newest game she had gotten her hands on, Pokémon Black 2, she was over the moon when she discovered that they were releasing an honest to god sequel for the first time and so when she had gotten her hands on it she had buckled down and played without rest for a full three days, she even called in sick for one day of school to do it.

Thinking about getting back home and continuing to play it was enough to get her to smile, she didn't care about many things but she did adore that game. Things like social lives never called out to her and that was why she fit so well into the group of people that called themselves her friends, they were rejects for lack of a better term.

They were not bad people and Alice fit into the group easily which was good because if it had been difficult she wouldn't have bothered and she would constantly be on her own.

The phone in her pocket buzzed softly and she paused in her thoughts to look at the screen seeing a quick message from Rose.

'Thinking about getting back to your kiddy game?'

Despite herself Alice smiled, Rose was more perceptive than she let on and far less of an air head then everyone assumed. Without texting back she nodded twice and it was only a second later that the phone went off again.

'Thinking about that cutie green haired boy in it?'

She could all but hear the giggle in Rose's text, that green haired cutie as she put it was the antagonist of the pokemon game...or at least he had been...he was right...?

Surprisingly Alice couldn't remember much about his ending in the last game but his name had been Natural Harmonia Gropius...or just N for short and Alice loved him.

Okay 'love' was a strong word for it but she certainly liked his character, she had on the off occasion wondered if being a pokemon trainer was cruel...he had brought that question in her mind more strangely than ever but that was what had made her decide that she didn't think it was. The more he accused trainers of being evil the more she felt obligated to tell him he was wrong...of course she never could because..Well...

"Pokemon isn't real." She whispered out loud clutching her book to her chest for a moment as she remembered that sad fact...she was sure she could blossom in a world like that...a beautiful world where she didn't have to be around others, she could just spend time with herself and the pokemon by her side. It was so perfectly lonely and she envied that type of life.

The phone went off again and this time she didn't look at it, she instead just slipped it into her pocket hearing the angry huff from behind her, Rose wasn't mad though and they both knew it. Sighing softly she rest her chin against her palm while staring blankly out the window of the bus, fascinated by the trees that wished past the glass and past her.

_~I wonder just what I should make for dinner...it has to be something simple, it's just me tonight after all.  
I'm going to be alone in the house again, I suppose that is good, I can keep the lights off.~_

She scribbled down some notes while looking out the window, she knew that she was just putting her thoughts down onto paper...but she liked that, she trusted the paper with her thoughts when no one else needed them. The bus was rolling to a stop to let a few people off at that point and she knew that her stop was at least ten more down the track.

_~Back at home I got an Eevee waiting for me, he is the sweetest little thing...I wonder what evolution he will want.  
Before I got on the bus to go home someone tried to throw my bag under the bus, lucky they were such an awful shot._

_The trees are such a nice green colour aren't they...Just like that person's hair is..._hair_...?~_

Alice jolted out of her trance like state in shock at what she had been writing and thinking she had been spacing out so much she had almost completely over looked it. The bus was still not moving but the last people were getting off of the transport and she had only just noticed the strange green hair that mixed into the grass, a figure lay on the ground a little way up the road...it moved and pulled itself up.

A person...a girl maybe? That hair was so long there was no way it wasn't a girl but Alice found herself captivated by the sight of it, green hair wasn't a common thing after all.

It was something she couldn't place for a moment but just as the bus began to roll away from its stop and the figure began to walk she caught a look at the person's eyes. Those gray hues struck a chord in her body and mind that she had been up until then ignoring...there had been no way and yet...it was impossible not to be.

As the bus moved past the figure everything slowed for just a moment...that single moment was long enough for Alice to see familiar traits that she couldn't ignore. They slid past him and she caught sight of something golden by the persons hip...they had moved past him and time had sped back up but Alice remained frozen at what she had seen and in that moment she had to make her choice quickly...and before she knew it she was on her feet.

"Stop..." Her voice was to nervous, to quiet no one could hear her and the next time she opened her mouth _everyone _heard her.  
"Stop!" She all but screamed, catching everyone on the bus off guard, the bus driver stared at her like she had lost her mind.

"I said stop! I need to get off!" Behind her she heard Rose's voice call her name questioningly but she couldn't stop there, she had to know...she had to find out if her imagination was mocking her or not. For a second she thought the driver was going to ignore her but his expression became sour at the idea of stopping the bus.

"Don't miss your stop next time." The driver said gruffly pushing the button to open the doors and she all but leapt out of that bus that hadn't even slowed to a stop yet, everyone was shocked at her outburst and she could hear Rose's voice following her as she got off the bus and ran the other way.

_It can't be...It couldn't be...no, I am just letting my imagination get the best of me. Because isn't this the sort of thing I always dreamed could happen? I am just convincing myself that there is a chance it is really..._

Everyone knew the feeling of trying to convince themselves that something was more magical and amazing then it really was and then being let down when it was reality again. This...was just too much for her to ignore though! With that in mind she pushed her body harder to run as she saw the tall figure ahead of her only a little more down the road than he had been before.

The children that had gotten off the bus had left by this point and that just left the area deserted for all but her and the strange mysterious figure that had gotten her to react so harshly.  
Alice could hear her heart pounding in her ears but why was she so nervous...surely it was just a mistake...or maybe cosplay...maybe anything...but...she didn't know._  
_

_I...got to do this like a bandaid! Quickly..! Sometimes...you just got to try and go with your gut so...I got to do this!  
_

She realised as her legs gave out on her and she could hardly breathe anymore, gathering up all of the breath she could in her strained lungs she gave out an almighty cry, a shout that would finally answer her suspicions.

"**N!**" She screamed at the top of her voice, her fingers gripping her clothes above her chest tightly out of nervous habit. The person came to a stop and silence settled down around them, as if aware of the sudden atmosphere the wind picked up sharply blowing past her and pushing her dark hair out in front of her face as she stood like a statue.

Slowly the figure turned its shoulders slightly towards her and gray eyes bore into her making her breath catch in her throat.

"Why are you screaming so loudly? If you wanted to speak to me there is no need to shout...do I know you?" His voice asked her quietly in a tone that she couldn't place and all together her heart ceased to beat.

"You're really..." Staring at him everything fit perfectly...this person...this male that had answered her question...this was no doubt N...N, Natural Harmonia

...

N.

_-About...30 minutes before that.-_

_Where am I...?  
Everything is just so hazy...but why...?  
_

N opened his eyes slowly and found himself staring up at a blue sky with few clouds in it, a nice day with a gentle breeze sliding over his form.

His body ached slightly and when he tried to sit up pain shot down through his slender body making sure he did not attempt to get up again so quickly. Accepting that he must lay there for a moment or two longer N began to piece together a sort of mental picture of what brought him to be lying out on the grass like this.

However hard he might try though he was unable to remember the events immediately before this, closing his eyes he let his mind wander back slowly. He could see his father smiling at him, a cold smile and not that of a loving father and he could see the devastation on the Unova champion's face as he fell to N's power...the old champion of Unova.

N now held that title...he was to be the hero that brought the pokemon a peaceful life though, not a champion to make them fight more.

His castle had rose up high above the ground and his father offered little but seemingly honest praise to him for his efforts and that made him happy, he all but glowed in just the memory of his stony cruel father giving praise. Then there was _her,_ his eyes opened again as he remembered her.

_Touko_...or just White as a nickname.  
Her face appeared in his mind, her expression during every battle they went into, determined and sure of what she believed in...An unsolvable formula however...she had fallen to him also. That determined face broken down to one of despair as her pokemon fell one after the other and finally her last pokemon already beaten and..._Urg_...!?

N's hand slammed against his forehead as a sharp pain assaulted him, causing a burst of white hot pain to block out his vision...that was where his memory ended...right there. He had beaten Touko but...what came after that...?

He became frustrated quickly as his mind refused to let him in on this apparent secret...this was unusual...he couldn't remember anything at all after that.

_"N...I believe in my pokemon!" _Her voice rang through the white space where his memory should have been.

"Gah!" His chest cletched in the most painful of ways, curling onto his side his fingers gripped at the fabric of his shirt as sounds of pain slipped past clenched teeth.

"Why...?" He whispered softly to himself through the painful haze. "Why does it hurt...where is my memory...Touko...why aren't you here with me?" He questioned the very life he held right then.

"Didn't I tell you... that if I beat you in that battle...I'd never let you slip away from me!?"

_"You mean that after this battle...one way or another...you and I will...?"_ Her voice sounded in his head again, a memory from before they began to fight.

_"Yes Touko...after this you and I can discover lots of things together." _Opening his eyes slowly as he remembered his own reply to that question he wondered what he had even meant by those words.

N had wanted White to stay by his side always so that he could try and solve that formula of hers...to solve the formula of having a friend...but...she was not with him now and he did not even know where here was...could it be...did she run away from him? No...she wouldn't do that right...White wanted to stay with him also! There was no way...that she would...

Slowly he uncurled his body and lay flat on the ground while staring up at the sky with a dull expression...  
"Where is this place...and how did I come to be here...? So many questions...huh?"

He could hear something coming towards him and when he turned his head to the side he saw a car like thing speeding down the road, it took him just a moment to find the right name for it, a bus...where lots of people would get a ride on one car...he'd never been on one but maybe that meant the somewhere close was a town. If he got to a town he would no doubt be able to contact his father and the rest of team plasma..

They must be worried about their king and he had to return to the pokemon that needed him. Slowly he pulled himself up, now able to finally sit as that bus came to a slow halt letting off what seemed to be a lot of young people and they were all wearing matching clothes...a club of some type maybe?

Those children were all very young to be in a club though, N didn't dwell on that for long and gradually he pulled himself up off of the ground planning to walk the other way the bus had come. N felt eyes on him and for a moment though he had imagined it but he did cast a glance up to the bus, unable to see in the windows that held such a heavy tint...but he was sure that someone in there had their eyes on him. The bus slowly began to roll away and the children that had gotten off of it all run different ways.

"Curious...if they're a club wouldn't they stay together..." N murmured to himself, talking purely to pass the time but...something was beginning to bug him. Not his lost memory or the fact he didn't know where he was...but something else that he couldn't place just yet. Down the road the bus gave a sudden screech that he all but ignored as he travelled down the grassy path quietly. Pounding footsteps were coming up behind him, probably just another child ready to run past him but...

"**_N!_**" A female's voice screamed his name and he stopped, freezing for a second sure it was Touko's voice...had she found him all on her own! N's excitement began to bubble up in a childish glee, Touko had come and found him just like all those friends in books did to their best friend!

However his excitement died pretty quickly when he glanced over his shoulder in an attempted to be cool in front of her...and...It wasn't her. A girl with similar hair that was just a little bit too long and dark to be Touko stood there staring at him with wide blue eyes, for a second he wasn't sure he wanted to reply to her at all he was so let down...it would be rude for him not to though...and a hero mustn't be rude.

"Why are you screaming so loudly? If you wanted to speak to me there is no need to shout...do I know you?" He asked the girl, she looked like she was looking right at a ghost and he wondered if maybe he had said something wrong already. She opened her mouth and he noticed that her lips were trembling just slightly, why was she so scared...he didn't think he was intimidating.

"You're really..." Her voice broke away before she could finish her thought but looking at her he felt a little bad for the poor thing so timid so he turned around to finally face her and speak.

"Yes, my name is N. Who are you though?" His words must have been wrong because the girl just stared at him...what a _strange_ girl.

...

_Me: "Finally! I've wanted to put this out for ages! ^^ First chapter! What do you think and tell me if you want a change in the layout of the text! Uh..." *Looks at the empty space where Flaky and Flippy normally added to this part of the post...* T-T "It's not the same without them..."_

_Alice: "What about us? We're here to you know..."_

_Touko: "I am in this right? Why is there an OC there when it's about me and N?"_

_Me: *Gathers them up in a group hug while answering no questions.* "New friends!" TvT "Review and what-not! On one last note, does anyone have another idea for the girl's name? I feel odd using my own name...it's like giving myself a kick." *Shakes head at her own greed.* "I'd love some other name ideas thanks."_


	2. Chapter 2 Hell Without Them

Authors Notes: I only have 3,000 words in this one...Sorry for that. XD I am use to writing 5,000 word chapters...but I am working on something else right now so please forgive me! Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Hell Without Them.

Alice

The wind around them picked up again as he spoke those last words to her it felt as if the entire world had slowed to a halt just at this moment. It had to be a joke, it had to be a prank, it couldn't be him and yet...her gut...kept telling her it was.

He watched her carefully as if there was something wrong with her and slowly she took a step towards him, slowly and carefully as if he might vanish if she moved to quickly.

"My name...is Alice..." She said softly while looking at the thing she had admired in the flesh, oh _god_ was this what being a fan girl felt like...? She certainly hoped not, she had never thought of herself as a fan girl before and she didn't plan on starting at that point.

She felt dizzy..having all but jumped from the bus and run over to him her vision was becoming black around the edges...she must have stood up to quickly. The boy that looked Like N put his hands out towards her as if he was going to catch her, she had not realised just how unbalanced she had been until she all but fell into his arms.

"Are you okay miss...?" Alice was mortified as she lay still in his arm, he was only using the one arm to hold her up and the other hand came to rest against her forehead, checking her for a temperature.

"You're face is a little red...perhaps you should head back home and get some rest." Jumping up straight against she tried to hide her blushing face. Even if he didn't end up being N...he was far too handsome for his own good and getting that close to her was not good for her poor heart that beat so wildly in her chest.

"You're a very confusing girl." He was still speaking as she regained control of herself as if he himself had not just caused the problem and he clearly had no idea her embarrassment was his fault.

Slowly she turned to look at him when she was sure her face wasn't the colour of a beetroot. taking in his features she began to see some very familiar things in him. The usual white shirt and long pants...the golden cube at his hip almost like some sort of rubic cube and he was even that strange necklace that reminded her of something from space...or maybe it was more like an atom thing.

She had never understood what these things were but N always had them on him and of course to top it all off her had that long green hair tied back in a pony tail...the only thing he didn't have was a cap..._did he lose it somewhere, _she wondered absent-mindedly.

However her study of him had to end there as he seemed to suddenly he remember something important and turned to her with a sharp intensity she couldn't help but become weary of his own thoughts and actions.

"Actually, I might be in need of your assistance strange girl." Alice made a face at that...was he nick naming her strange girl or something now..?

"What...do you need my help for?" The N look alike glanced around before his eyes focused back onto her with that same intensity that she certainly was not getting any more use to, this guy...he was abnormal...she could tell just by the way he acted and spoke...this person...really was N.

"I would like it very much if you could show me the quickest way to a pokecentre. I need to make a phone call." He said seriously and Alice began to freak out all over again...she knew that she had already decided he was N...but...just hearing those words from him made it so much more solid for her.

Of course she wasn't going to rule out the idea that this was some sick joke but just looking at him she couldn't help but believe this. Now came a...well...what she could only describe as an awkward moment, there was no pokecentre...there were no pokemon here.

She didn't believe she was lucky enough to be in a land of pokemon...so...she had to tell him that this place was...for lack of a better word 'normal.' She must have taken way too long to speak because he sighed and began to look up and down the road as if making a choice on which way he would walk.

"Is there one far from here?" He asked her distractedly and she when she just shook her head he gave another soft sigh, the words she was trying to get out caught up in her throat and died there.

"Very well...it was nice to meet you." He said politely and turned away from her to start walking down the road...this was going to be another strange shouting moment but there was no helping it.

"N..." She called his name, it sounded strange being said so loudly but he did turn to look at her again when she spoke. "There...aren't any pokemon centres around here..." He for a moment looked puzzled then annoyed.

"I see...I suppose I will have to take my chances in the long grass for a while then. This must be one of the more..._deserted_ areas. Even so, I am sure there must be a pokemon centre nearby, even if they are normally used for trainers they are still a wonderful thing to have!" He chatted more to himself than to her as he turned away again, showing no signs of understanding what she meant...and Alice who perhaps was not very bright in that moment rushed forward gathering a fist for of his shirt in her hands shouted.

"There is no pokemon here N!" This stopped him dead, he didn't even turn to face her...she didn't want him to leave and so she continued on desperately.

"There are no pokemon here. They just don't live here...exist here! They...don't exist here...and that is why there is no pokemon centre...there are no gyms or trainers. Pokemon...don't _exist_..." Her voice did not get any quieter as she told him this, he had been so still but once she finished the last word he turned around fully to face her, the grip she had on his shirt that she had thoughts was firm was broken all to easily as she felt small before him.

He stared at her with an unreadable expression and before she knew it she was in his arms again, hand pressed firmly against her forehead. It was as though he had _zero_ concept on personal space.

"Are you feeling alright? Why would you say such strange things? There is no place in this world that pokemon do not exist...surely you must be ill. Don't you worry though I'll see to it that a team plasma doctor takes a look at you." Alice couldn't believe what she was hearing, he was calling her bonkers!?

She wanted to be insulted but when she looked up at his close face her words left her and the heat returned to her face and he just looked at her with such a bright smile completely oblivious to her embarrassment...this _idiot_!

"You're saying silly things...no pokemon? You poor thing...if you really believe that you must be in hell." He held her against him for a moment like an injured child and Alice knew that he wasn't going to believe her...at all...this was hopeless.

It was just then when her thoughts became so pathetically weak that something occurred to change all of that. A bird flew down from a tree, when she looked at it she recognised it as a kookaburra...she liked them well enough but they had a nasty habit of stealing food at camping grounds. This particular bird had flown down to snatch up a worm and N reacted rather... _strongly_.

"What is that? I've never seen one before!" He looked at the bird with childish glee, no doubt thinking that it was a pokemon. He let go of her leaving her there as he crouched down to look at the bird more closely, it didn't seem to bothered by him...that was lucky if it had been bothered by him it would have flown away and maybe stopped to peck him on the way out, those birds weren't often timid.

"It's an animal, a bird." She said hoping to use this to her advantage, he was so interested...but...she could use that to show him this was not a world of pokemon. Animals and pokemon were different in a few ways...for example they didn't have a living breathing _candle_! (Thinking of a Litwick.)

"It's a silent pokemon isn't it, normally they say their name, 'Animal'." N spoke up, his tone and actions so different from before...he was like a little boy. Alice couldn't help but laugh, he looked at her in surprise, it was such an honest expression that she ended up laughing more.

"What's so funny!?" He demanded, clearly insulted by her laughter but it wasn't laughter at his knowledge she was actually laughing at herself for being in such an insane situation.

"It's not called animal, it is an animal and it is a bird and this particular type of bird is called a Kookaburra." She explained to him but he looked more lost...it was more complicated than in the pokemon world where everything was devided into simple type groups.

"Kookaburra...?" He murmured the name thoughtfully, looking back at it again before it too flight and flew off into the trees again.  
"You said there were no pokemon here but there is one right there!" He exclaimed with the brightest smile as he looked at her again. "So you must be cured of your illness!"

"N...that wasn't a pokemon...that was an animal." She tried to teach him gently but it was hard.  
"A pokemon has special strength, they evolve and they can do things like shoot fire and cause tornadoes...animals don't do that." His smile was beginning to fall away from his face and she took it a step further, her confidence growing in his silence.

"You N hero of the Unova region...are no longer in a world of pokemon and...instead...you are in a world that has never seen a trainer or champion. In place of pokemon we have animals and instead of partners in battle we have pets...this is the world you are in now. N...you are very far away from home and to be honest...I don't know how you ever got here to begin with."

_I don't even know if you're real._

Was what she really thought. Knowing she had to step up her game a little bit...she began to become...a little dramatic. Alice pointed at him knowing that she to drive the point home right then and there and it was probably wrong of her to have such a damn sweet time saying it.

"Your name is N Harmonia; you are going to be the hero of the Unova region, the chosen hero that will awaken the great dragon pokemon! However...this place is not Unova, there are no pokemon here nor have there ever been...or will ever be. Pokemon have never existed in this world other than in games and television! They are not _real_!"

As if her words had physically harmed him he took a shaky step back staring at her with horror filled eyes, apparently he could see she was serious and that this was real, now two of them had to wrap their heads around this strange new turn of events not just her.

"But...just a few hours ago..." He whispered as the reality of his situation really hit him hard, he collapsed down to his knees, grabbing the grass up in his hands.

"Just this morning I was with Zorua! How...can something like this be...?" Slowly Alice walked over to him and crouched down next to him as she held his shoulders gently. She felt a little bad knowing she just might be abusing this situation and his weakness.

After all...Alice had always liked N and here he was in the flesh...she wanted to see more of him and so she said something unrealistic.

"N...it's okay, I'll get you back home...to Zorua...to Reshiram...I'll make sure you get back to the pokemon world. You have to save them...so I'll get you home." She promised him gently, his body turned to her and all but fell into her chest...a child in need of comfort.

Closing her eyes she wrapped her arms around him and let him lean on her for a moment...she didn't have the slightest clue on how this had happened or how she could get him home...but...she knew that this way she could learn more about him and about pokemon and so she was happy.

"I'll show you everything I know of pokemon and the connection between this world and yours...uh?" She stopped talking when something warm hit her knee, she looked down at him to see fresh tears falling from his face as he clutched himself to her tightly.

So he really was a child...? That made Alice happy, she had already learnt something about him, gently she ran her fingers through his hair and she couldn't stop the smile that formed on her lips.

Laying off to the side she noticed a cap and her smile grew knowing that it belonged to him, reaching over for it she was surprised when he gripped her shirt as if afraid that she was going to leave him on his own.

She rest her hand on his head reassuringly before grasping the hat and placing it on his head instead. This calmed him and slowly the grip on her shirt lessened. He might have been away from home and had a moment of weakness but...she wondered if he'd ever count on her for something like this ever again.

Already her overactive imagination was making them out to be the best of friends...he knew nothing about her and she knew almost everything about him. It was almost like she was some creepy ass stalker...but just for the moment she was happy no matter how much she was twisting this to her advantage.

**_Hate._**

Alice flinched in surprise as a very strange thought popped into her head with no warning, it was just the single word that didn't seem to be said by the familiar voice that she used in her head. It was twisted and dark and it simply said that one word.

_Hate_.

Alice thought maybe her mind was playing tricks on her or she was just a nutter...but...that thought had carried so much harshness to it that it stopped her still. N didn't seem to notice and after a while of thinking it over she decided it was just another stray thought.

They stayed like that for a while, no words passing between them before finally he pulled himself together and stood back up with her. She did make sure he was really ready to get up and wasn't going to just fall right back down but to her surprise he had composed himself almost perfectly in those few minutes alone.

"Very well...show me..." He said calmly. "Which way are we going then?" He asked and it took her a few seconds to remember that the bus had left...so they would have to walk to her home. Turning around to point down the quiet road she began to wonder why she was doing this, stranger danger and all that and she was willingly taking her back to her home.

"That way, it's not really that fa- ah!?" Her pointing hand was grabbed suddenly as he pulled her along down the road, her small hand completely covered by his larger one. Had he no idea how embarrassing it was to just be grabbed by someone?!

She thought that her face was going to explode the heat in her cheeks was so intense; thankfully he wasn't looking back at her. Her head was slowly wrapping around this entire thing and she was beginning to feel excited...she would have written in her book but of course with him dragging her along that was impossible...so she just followed after him.

Finally the reality of this began to seep into her mind...she realised that this...really was very special. Something truly special had happened to her...even if he really was just an insane person...or a joke...something out of the ordinary was happening to her.

Alice had never felt so happy to be so unsure about something. Now that N was here...her life was going to change and she could all but feel the new journey opening up for her and for him.  
A journey she was more than happy to follow.

...

N (Real quick.)

_No pokemon?_ What sick joke was this? N pulled the girl along by the hand quickly...he wasn't happy about this at all but...this place...if there were really no pokemon then just maybe there would be something else interesting here.

That animal...that _bird _as she had called it had appeared just like a pokemon to him...so...maybe there really was something worthwhile in this place. Behind him the girl was complaining, telling him to slow down but he wasn't listening to her, she was going to be his guide.

She knew who he was and she seemed to know a bit about the animals so...she would do and he had many, many questions for her.

No matter how interesting this place might appear...he wished to get back home. The pokemon there needed him, they were still under the trainers grasp after all.

...

Me: "Indeed this is shorter." *Nods thoughtfully.* "I think this will have shorter chapters than my HTF story...but...as long as I am getting something out there it will be alright...huh? Who's growing mushrooms in my house?" *Looks at N curled up in the corner.*

Alice: "I think the 'no pokemon' thing was a bit much for him..."

Me: "Yeah...poor guy...well to bad! More pain to come! MWHAHAHAHHA!"

Alice: *Sighs and presses her fingers to her forehead.* "Say..what was with the sudden 'hate' thing? You kinda ruined a cute moment...don't tell me you're going to make me the insane one!"

Me: "Mwhaha." :3 kitty face~

Alice: "You're being malicious again...Review before she ends up cutting us up... I don't know about HTF fan fics but people don't come back to life here you should know th...ah!? What are you doing with the knife!?"

Me: *Innocent look.* "Nothin...just...thinking about dinner."

Alice: *Is gone!*

Me: "Till next time!"


	3. Chapter 3-Usless PeopleStrangest Walk

Author's note: I've gotten two very nice reviews already which is great so thanks to those two people, I will (I plan to) finish this fic and maybe have a second one if it goes well so don't worry about that.  
Also if anyone does any Happy Tree Friends fan fic I'd like to ask for help, if you have an fan fictions (with an OC pairing) or could make any my friends and I would like to put them in a game, thank you now enjoy!

Chapter 3 Useless people/Strangest walk of her life. (Two chapters rolled into one because they were short. XD )

Part 1 Useless people.

Ghetsis (YESSS He is in this too :3 OH! ON THAT NOTE! vvvvvvv

** ／****l****、  
****(ﾟ､****｡****７****  
**** l****、 ****ヽ****  
**** じし ****f,****ノ** - IT'S A **_KITTY!_**

Alice: "She's nuts..."

N: "Kit...ty..." *Writes notes.*

Alice -.-' "I give up on you two.."

(Okay seriously now, here is the chapter. Enjoy and review because I love those reviews. ^^)

Ghetsis (Reminder :p)

This was intolerable. Things had moved on so perfectly and now this has happened? People were so useless...they were the human embodiment imperfection itself.

Pokemon were closer to perfection but that perfection was an illusion also as they were just well made tools and even the shiniest tool had its blemishes. That had been proven with the current situation the great sage found himself faced with.

His son...no not son...his most valued tool had vanished, he was not hiding nor was he taken...he was just gone. The young newly crowned king had been in his room for days speaking to no one and even refusing his own fathers requests and then he had just vanished in the night.

Tapping his gloved finger against his own throne in agitation he waited...waited for another imperfect tool to bring him news of just where his son had vanished to.

The most imperfect being he had stumbled across in his life time had been fashioned into his perfect son to play the role of the figure head and oh how he fit that roll. That childish teenager had been perfect for it in the end and he had defeated the champion and taken control just as he was suppose to.

Even stopped that one pathetic little girl along the way, how that person had been the other 'hero' was beyond him...but...in the end she had fallen to her son. Just as he was beginning to become lost in his thoughts the door slowly opened revealing a young female grunt at the door.

She looked nervous...was she to be the bearer of bad news...one would hope not for he had no intention on being gentle with any of these fools.

"Speak." He demanded, she stood there like a terrified kitten before and his patience was fading fast with her. "If you will not speak you will leave." He growled and finally her tongue loosened.

"My lord...King N is nowhere to be found... the entire Unova has been searched and the neighbouring lands as well. Also...he has not taken any of his pokemon with him...they remain in his quarters..." Her voice was beginning to tremble as he stood from his throne and walked to the window to look over the land they had captured.

Everything was still going smoothly...apart from a few small rebel patches everything was under his control. Of course this could all be hindered if N remained missing as he was.

"Is there anything else to add?" He asked coldly as the girl had not yet left him which with his current state would have been the smart thing to do.

"Well my lord...it's just that...the tracking devices that were put into the King...have also stopped working." Ghetsis's rage reached a tipping point, those tracking chips were only to be used as a last resort and now even they were no longer on the table.

"How in the world did they stop working!" He turned to look at the grunt as his fury built up. "They are impossible to even get to and there were at least three still in him and they all stopped working!?" He demanded each step bringing him closer to the terrified child.

"There is nowhere in this world that they would stop working! Even if he were to be a rotting carcass or hundreds of meters under the earth and sea he would still be able to be found! You're telling me that they are not working at all!?"

"Y-Yes...my lord..." She whimpered pathetically and his rage found its tipping point, slamming the back of his hand against the girl's face he watched with mild satisfaction as she fell to the ground with a pitiful yelp. Perhaps imperfect tools were not completely useless they still cried out nicely with every touch whether it be soft or rough they trembled under him and he loved it.

"Stand." He ordered coldly to the girl that lay helplessly on the ground, lucky for her she was still able to stand, if she hadn't been able to stand she would have met with his foot in a painful way. She got up and he moved in close to her gripping her chin roughly as he did.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumours of what happens to the people that bring bad news?" He asked her softly, under his hands she was trembling...she was reacting expectedly, nodding slightly he smiled and continued with his hand sliding from his robe to cup the female's sex a little more roughly then he should have.

"Good then you understand your position, rumours usually have a glimmer of truth to them." Her eyes widened and he swore she was thinking about fleeing from him, that would be a seriously lapse in judgement on her part.

"My lord..." She began to speak but he was ignoring her words, she was the barer of simply awful news and his frustration needed some way to be vented, she would do.

His hand travelled up to grab her breast, the tight material of uniform leaving nothing to the imagination. She squeaked softly and he could see the blush on her face just before she turned her head away from him, in a way that to was an attempt to escape him.

She was a rather cute grunt to, her face was almost completely hidden but her eyes were bright and he could just see a few freckles on her face. An imperfection in itself that he could perhaps live with...after all when naked and squirming on a bed freckles didn't mean too much.

Luckily for this young girl who seemed to be over flowing with lucky charms that day another figure appeared at the door, a male grunt this time. Much more confident at that.

"My lord, may I have a word? The Shadow Triad might have a lead on where his highness has gone." Ghetsis was a man of business and so he had no quarrels leaving the trembling girl where she stood to follow the grunt.

The Shadow Triad might have just been the best tools he had other than N, they were certainly more respectable tools. His son might have been missing for a little while but he had faith that he would be found...and just perhaps when they were to find the young king...he might have found something for them.

His son did always have a knack for finding new shinning tools...so...just perhaps his vanishing wouldn't be a disappointment.

...

Strangest Walk Of Her Life.

Alice.

N was still holding her hand but she didn't think he was aware of that anymore, they had been walking for close to ten minutes when he started firing off questions, a mix of interest and uncertainty to begin with but he was becoming increasingly loud and his expressions were that of an excited child, he was so honest.

"You're saying that _animal_ is the word for _pokemon_ here?" He was asking her and she decided that was close enough to the truth so she nodded. "And there are categories on animals? Like fire types and water types?" He frowned in confusion.

"Yes, however they aren't broken up into elements like that. Like before what you saw was a bird, there was thousands of different birds. They act, look, eat and sound different. The most basic forms of animals that everyone knows from a young age is the following; birds, fish and land animals." She looked at him to make sure he was following.

"Fish are almost always under the water while birds normally all fly with a few exceptions and animals that walk on land are like the middle ground. You and I for example as based as land anima...huh?" He cut her off with a startled look as if she had said something truly outrageous.

"We're animals!?" She blinked at him before laughing quietly, stifling the sound as best she could with her hand. His eyes were so wide and swimming with expectation so she simply couldn't let him down.

"I suppose it sounds strange to you...but yet humans are also animals." She told him gently and he seemed overjoyed by that new fact, so much so that he almost skipped.

"We fall into the category of land animals, even though we can swim and found methods of flying we are still based on the ground...uh...like say...normal type pokemon." Alice said clicking her fingers as she found a simple way to categorise humans for him. His excitement grew as he made some sort of connection in his head.

"We're the same as them? That's...amazing! I wonder if people can also be called pokemon!" He spoke happily walking ahead of her as he did, Alice could only smile and watch him go.

This was fun...he took in all her words and only asked good questions out of curiosity...it was fun because he wasn't fighting with her like students would with a teacher, he really wanted to learn this. The conversation progressed again until they came to another funny question.

"So animals don't say their name? What do they say instead?" Alice had to think about that for a moment before laughing softly.

"They don't really say too much...normally it is just some sort of growling sound...uhh..like when a Poochienna growls but doesn't say its name, that's the sound some animals make. Others like little birds make chirping songs while night animals like owls and bats will screech." He was really trying to follow her, she could see it in his eyes...but...even so it was easy to see he was lost.

"Do none of them say anything?" He asked slowly and she shook her head, it was hard to explain to him without actually making the sounds herself.

"Well there are some birds that have a mimicking ability, they can say a few words like 'hello' or a person's name but that is about as far as it goes." He seemed a little let down and a tad bit confused but also very interested by this new type of place.

"Okay...well...how about I just show you? I'm sure I can show you some animal calls when we get back to the house. He stopped to look at her seriously.

"You'll show me?" Alice nodded a feel of joy filling her as he smiled so innocently. "Thank you! Teach me a lot okay? From now on you are my Sensei." Alice wasn't sure how to reply to that...he could have just said teacher but...he said _sensei_? Just where did he stand when it came to language?

After all the game he was from was originally created in Japan so he should probably speak Japanese not just replace random English words with the Japanese one.

Oh god...it was like he was speaking fan girl language, she really didn't want that to be the case but...she didn't know much about this N at all. She didn't get any questions though, he wasn't done with his own questions and statements just yet.

He grabbed her hands in his own with a bright smile. "Really thank you very much teach me gently okay? To...-!" He stopped speaking for a moment looking at her face closely and before she knew it she was only inches away from him.

"Say...if we're really from different worlds are you any different from me?" He asked curiously peering at her face as if looking for something that wasn't human about her.

"W-Well..." She murmured trying desperately to find her voice when he was this close to her. "Here...people can't have green hair, it's physically impossible to be born with it...the...only colours for hair we can have is blonde, brown, black and red...and...eyes too. We can only really have blue, brown and a few shades in between."

He wasn't getting any further away from her, his hand came up to grab her chin making her look up at him. She was frozen in place, unable to even protest.

"Come to think of it...I noticed before that your eyes were strange." He mused seemingly unaffected by the closeness "Your hair is so dark but your eyes...they are such a bright blue it's almost like they are glowing on you..." He trailed off staring down into her eyes, holding her gaze firmly.

"They remind me of something...I think I have forgotten..." He shook his head breaking out of whatever trance he was in.

"Forgotten? Like...a memory from your childhood?" She asked softly but he shook his head.

"No...forgotten something recent. I...can't actually remember that much at all. Otherwise I'd know how I came to be here." He frowned looking lost in his own head. Alice had been meaning to ask him about that for a while now...just...how did he even get here? Apparently though he really had no idea.

"No memory at all?" She asked him with an openly worried expression, perhaps he had hit his head when he landed and forgotten everything? Oh but that would be to similar to the pokemon Mystery dungeon series...she really was pathetic now that she thought about it, comparing his situation to a spin off pokemon game.

"Well...I do know...that I was...uh..." He trailed off in thought. "Perhaps with the champion? Or...with Reshiram?" She realised that he must have been towards the end of the first game at least...did he know he lost to her? Oh..right to _White _who she was playing as.

"Anything else you can remember?" Slowly he shook his head looking depressed suddenly, his facial expressions...they changed so rapidly and yet at the same time she couldn't help but feel these sorts of reactions would soon fade away.

She remembered playing the games where she had admired him so, he was cool, collected, distant and...perhaps...like someone that was completely different from her. However when she looked at him now trying to remember something he had lost he didn't seem so different, he seemed...human.

he was strange sure but still more human than he ever appeared in the games. Of course thinking about him from a 2D character in a game...wasn't that wrong? The thoughts that assaulted her mind made her sigh and slam her palm against her forehead...that brought...a strange scene into play.

"What are you doing!?" Suddenly large hands had grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face looking at her seriously. He was to close again, way, way to close. Holding her wrists away from her face he lent forward towards her with such a serious expression.

"Don't do something like that so suddenly, are you trying to knock yourself out!? Don't you know that you shouldn't cause your body any harm!?" He shook her slightly with such firm words, he was taking a facepalm far too seriously and she could only stand there dumbfounded as this continued.

"Damn it...I had something for a moment there. I swore I did..." He sighed shaking his head as he did. "Then you went and did that...now I have no idea what I remembered..." Letting go of her he continued to complain, absolutely oblivious to how embarrassed he had made her...he was so dim when it came to a females embarrassment.

"You think that if I remember how I got here in the first place...I can find my way back?" He asked her quietly with a frown and she realised that even if he was interested in animals now he was still missing pokemon and she just couldn't leave him like that.

"Of course." He looked up at her firm reply with an expression that urged her to continue her thoughts.  
"If something can be done often it can be undone in a similar fashion. Either by doing the same thing in reverse or doing the opposite thing...like...turning on a light.

Flick the switch one way it brings like and the other takes it away, perhaps your way home is the same as that." He looked comforted by that and walked over to her placing his hand on her head with a bright smile.

"Yeah perhaps you're right, thanks." He ruffled her hair as he thanked her and she could feel the heat beginning to flood her cheeks, after all...people didn't normally do this sort of thing but he touched her so casually. They continued to walk after that and his questions began all over again, it made her oddly happy though.

"But say..." He once again got a little bit too close to her face. "I know you're going to be my Sensei and all..but...what's with that schooling attitude of yours? Everything you've said so far is far more complex than it really has to be. Could it be...do you think I am an idiot?" He asked in a sort of darker tone she couldn't place and immediately she began to panic.

"N-No! That's not what I think at all, you got it wrong! I was just...I just uh..." No matter what she tried to say none of it came out right and through her stumbling attempts to explain herself she heard his laughter. Looking up at him again she was surprised to see him laughing so whole heartedly.

"You sure are a strange girl aren't you! Sometimes you're acting all strong and confident and then you stumble over simple sentences." He was mocking her and she began to get a little frustrated, walking past him angrily she made a small comment.

"If you're going to be so rude maybe I won't teach you about animals." Even as the words left her mouth she wished that they hadn't...he could go find about anyone to show him this...she wanted it to be her and he might just walk away now that she had said that.

So she was surprised when suddenly warm arms wrapped around her, pulling her in close to his chest.

"Hey...don't go saying things like that so suddenly. I won't tease you anymore so don't try and leave me behind." He spoke seriously to her, his voice sounded so calm and cool that she was reminded of the N from the game again. Left confused and breathless she just nodded slightly to him.

"That's great!" He smiled brightly and let go of her.

**Alice's thoughts-** _He...is so cool. He could have walked right away but he decided to keep me?_

**N's thoughts-** _ARH! That had been to close! If I lose my guide what will I do!? It was impolite of me! I must be more careful, females are delicate things! Dangerous...dangerous...dangerous!_

N walked ahead of her with such confidence that she was sure he had to be the hero from the Unova region she had admired so much...that was until he all but ran into a light pole. He stopped himself just in time..but...somehow that ruined the cool moment he had.

_I suppose that maybe he isn't that cool...heh...that's okay._ Alice thought while she walked past him calmly with a smile as she watched him, he was more human than she expected but...she liked this type of N as well, it was far more honest and far less lonely. The N in the game always seemed lonely somehow...reaching out towards the character White and Black...maybe this was the honest side of him? She would like that.

"So...if there are lots of different types and they aren't separated by elements...how do you tell them all apart?" He asked falling into a confident stride with her again, having shrugged off that embarrassing moment.

"Look I'll show you. We may not have different elements but we do judge them by ability and profile. In the pokemon world pokemon can look, act and sound completely different but all be connected by their type...that is similar to here but a little more toned down." She pulled her note book out and flipped through a few pages before she found some of her sketches.

"See this here? It's a dove." She showed him the picture of the white bird wings by its side as it perched on a tree branch. He stared at the image in wonder but said nothing as she flipped to the next one.

"And this one here is an eagle. See how its beak is a different shape and it has different patterns and colours? This is called a bald eagle, there are sea eagles also...they have even more types of eagle...so it is really easy to forget all their names." She explained and his fingers gently ran over the page.

"These are...rather detailed...did you draw them?" He asked curiously, the first time he had really asked her a question about herself and not animals...it was daunting but it made her smile all the same...this experience...was almost...nice.

"Yeah, I draw animals that I like. See here?" She turned to another page of animals. "This animal is called a shark, see how its body is different? This is one of the animals that falls into the fish category because it has gills and lives under water. While this one here is a Dolphin, while it is still swimming and is most often lumped in with fish it is actually more like us because of _this_." She tapped the small black hole on top of the sketches head.

"It breaths air like us...that is a more complicated area though so we will stick to calling it a fish for now. Understand?" She looked up at him but now he was gazing closely at her and not the pictures. Her heart hammered in her head loudly as his reached out towards her, squeezing her eyes shut she tried to calm herself but he didn't end up touching her.

"And what is this?" His voice asked quietly and when she opened her eyes she saw that he was holding a small butterfly...it must have gotten tangled in her hair or something. Forcing her heart to stop pounding she smiled though she felt rather silly...she knew that he wasn't interested in her and yet she jumped to that conclusion.

"Doesn't it look familiar to you N?" Just saying his name made her happy...it made this much more real for her, this entire experience was surreal...but she was enjoying it all the same.

"It...almost looks like a...Volcarona. But it's too small and...its body is a bit different." Alice smiled looking at the butterfly as it fluttered around their heads, showing off its beautiful wings as it did.

"Well that's a butterfly...there are a lot of different types of those too but none of them that I can think of start a fire storm like Volcarona can. It should look similar to that pokemon because...that pokemon was based off of butterflies like that." She explained and that brought them to the next issue he would have to wrap his head around...how pokemon fit into this world at all.

"Based off?" He asked slowly and she sighed softly rubbing the back of her head as she did...after all...in her world pokemon was just a game.

"You'll...just have to wait until we get home and then I can show you just what I mean..." She wondered how he would deal with seeing himself on a gaming screen...she hoped that he-...Oh no...  
Suddenly she remembered that her DS was on and that if she didn't get home fast all of her and Eevee's hard work would be lost!

In a state of panic she began to hurry. "N we got to hurry!" She shouted grabbing onto his hand she began to run, dragging a confused green haired male after her.

"What's wrong? Hey, what's wrong!?" He demanded sounding alarmed at her sudden out burst...and frankly who could blame him. No one would understand her if she said she was racing home for a game.

"If I don't get home fast Eevee will be let down!" She shouted and either that made sense to him or he didn't want to question it any longer because he fell silent and just ran after her, easily falling into stride with her again...he ran much faster than she did and she was the one that ended up pushing herself to stay in step with him as they raced back to her home.

...

Me: "Only 3000 words? I must be losing my touch..." *Is now growing mushrooms in the corner with N*

Alice: "Actually look. It's about 4,000." *Points.*

Me: "Is it? AHHH~ YES!" *Grins all confident again.*

Alice: "Uh...say...you did say that you didn't want to add and OC so what am I?"

Me : *Glares all pissed like as her confidence was ruined again.*

Alice: "Fine, fine...it's a fair question..."

White: *Is lurking close by, watching.*

Me: "You'll find out what you are you weird ass half breed of OC and IC...is that right? IC?"

Alice: "I have no idea...you crazy person...urg. Update soon though. This fluff stuff going on with N is insane..."


	4. Chapter 4 Welcome Home Imaginary Friend

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long, I got plenty of excuses for you but….well I can't be bothered to make them :P  
Well enjoy this chapter anyway! I don't care if no one likes this fic I will continue it! :DDD

Chapter 4 Welcome Home...My Imaginary Friend.

Panting and wheezing Alice was horrified to see she was the only one that was in such a state, N looked cool and collected like he hadn't even broken a sweat while bolting down the road with her while she was a hot and bothered mess...it was embarrassing to say the least.

Immediately once returning home she unlocked the door and all but dive bombed her bed finding her DS that lay hidden away in the many pillows she surrounded herself with.

Thankfully there was still enough charge to keep it running but it was very clearly dying, red light just glowing with an omionous warning to it, save me or lose me, was the message it sent her. Once saved she let out a big breath of air and slid off of the bed, only then realising that she had all but abandoned N at the door.

Turning away from her bed she saw the green haired teen standing calming in her door way, it occurred to her that he would have had to follow her through the hall and up the steps to get to her room...he must have been following her closely.

He looked around the house quietly as if he was looking for something abnormal...understandable considering he was in an entirely different world.

"Your home...is...small." He said slowly but in all honesty her home was nothing close to small three stories, one underground and two above with at least three spare rooms and three toilets...it really was nothing along the lines of small.

However N had been raised in a _castle _of course he was use to much bigger living areas, deciding not to argue about house sizes with him she straightened up and caught her breath again. It was begging to seep in...she had...a walking, breathing, talking, _living _video game character in her room...oh god...she must have snapped.

Alice began to doubt her mental stability again, she had just brought N into her house...she had brought the most perfect imaginary friend home to her house.

"Where shall I stay?" N asked her taking her off guard…indeed where would he stay…? He couldn't very well stay in her room…she DID have family after all. A family that wouldn't approve of a boy…and _older_ boy with _green_ hair staying in her room.

"Stay…?" The brainless repeated word dropped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Yes, if you're going to be my sensei then I will need to stay close by and I do not know this place so I can't go wandering about." He said as though it was the simplest thing in the world and Alice actually did have a solution as strange as it was.

"There is a house across the road, we rent it out to people so you could stay there." It seemed ideal but…they really did _rent _it out and she didn't know if he had any money…he couldn't really could he? He came from the pokemon world so she didn't see him earning or having real money.

And she certainly didn't have that sort of cash laying around…one would think her parents might let her stay in it but that wasn't how this family ran itself. They weren't that type of family…she was still figuring out what type of family they were.

"May I have a look around?" He asked politely while turning to fix her with a stare that must have been something he learned when training to be become the king...it was just so firm and regal...how could she refuse?

"Well...yes...try not to cause any trouble though." He cast her a fleeting smile before vanishing around the corner to poke around her house. She didn't even have a chance to talk more about where he would stay…that was a problem that could wait an hour or so, they had time.

Now that he was entertained for a moment she could pull out the material to show him, her pokemon items. Pulling out all the games she owned, she remembered playing the first game when she was a very young child, a gift from a big brother character.

She moved on to find the other items she owned that revolved around pokemon the books and manuals on strategy and pokemon were the next things she found. She tossed them onto the bed with the games, then the TV episodes she had...very few and most of them on the old video players that were really no longer in use.

Items found in garage sales and old second hand shops really, even though her family was so well off...looking for things in places that had so many memories attached to them...just had a magical quality about it.

The next group of things she began to pull out...were toys, lots and lots of toys. Hard toys, soft toys, musical toys, bouncy toys...all pokemon. She had piles of little pokeballs that were found in a vending machine like thing, put two dollars in and get a random pokemon and Alice had wasted lots and lots of two dollar coins on those machines, getting many of the same pokemon...but...it had all been worth it and it formed fond memories for her.

Her most precious item was a pair of Eevee plushy she had though, a shiny Eevee, they had always been the pokemon she loved the most. It had never changed and it never needed to be something special...Eevee was perfect just the way it was.

This particular possession had also been a gift from the same big brother figure that had given her the first game and old toy pokedex.

Clutching the toy to her chest she closed her eyes and remembered that day. _(Little memory) _

_The gentle summer breeze that was still too warm blowing through her dark hair as she sat on the blanket set down by the glistening river she enjoyed the sight of birds singing together up in the trees. By her side sat a larger figure, but no matter how she might try that face was shrouded in darkness and yet...that voice was just as sweet._

"_Alice..." Called a soft voice, one much older and more experienced than herself in life, a voice she respected and adored._

"_What is it?" The urge to say big brother had held her but she didn't want to call him that when he wasn't really related to her...would it make him angry._

"_It's okay, call me big brother...or Onii-san will do as well. Here I have something for you...look here." Large hands offered out the Eevee, game and pokedex to her small form. "It's pokemon." He gently coaxed her into accepting it. She had taken the game and pokedex into her arms looking at them in confusion...what exactly were these things. On the screen of the pokedex she saw a smoother version of that soft toy that he held._

"_What's its name...?" She had asked while reaching out to take the Eevee up in her arms._

"_They're called Eevee...but...you can give it a special name if you like. This special Eevee will protect you Alice." She had looked up at a smiling face that faded away with her childish memory._

"_Doesn't big brother protect me?" She asked softly, happy to call him big brother. He had laughed softly and reached over to pat her on the head, smiling ever so sweetly._

"_Yes Alice...but one day if I might not be here...this Eevee will protect you because...like myself this Eevee loves you Alice. With love...comes the promise to protect right?" Ruffling her hair softly before kissing her forehead he smiled once again..._

What a sweet memory...what a sweet big brother...so...where was he now..?

_**CRASH!**_

Alice jumped her heart flying up into her throat at the sound of something tumbling down and shattering when it hit the ground. Forgetting her little nostalgia trip she ran out into the main room with one of her pokeball toys in hand.

Rushing to where that loud crashing sound had come from she became a little anxious, would N really cause this much trouble for her? Oh god what was she getting into...?

...

N

The strange girl had given him leave to do as he wished around her home, it truly was small though. By the look of it...it might only fit ten people at a time comfortably while his home had hundreds of people living there plus staff, this place didn't look like it had any staff at all.

Of course he couldn't tell the girl any of this, it would be rude and a king must not be rude...however...the more he looked at it...these living quarters were just so strange. He had seen people back where he lived staying in similar houses...but he had always assumed they lived on their own or something like that, did the strange girl live on her own here as well?

"Another formula maybe...?" He murmured while walking down the hallway from her room, there was noise from back towards that room but it didn't sound like anything was wrong so he went about his exploration.

For the most part nothing was that out of the ordinary...there were walls and lights and the occasional plant, nothing like another world was normally thought to have. Was there anything that different in this place or was it just the lack of pokemon...?

Making his way down the steps slowly he walked into each small room all designed for some purpose, one of white tiles and a sweet fake fragrance, another with a wooden floor and cupboards surrounding a fridge and one room that seemed to be a communal area.

A large TV sat a few meters away from the plushed cushioned chairs, a small coffee table sitting between them. It was a nice house to be sure but it was just so small...none of these rooms were even close to the size of his own bed room.

The more he wandered around the more he became aware of the lack of pokemon, there were no clocks shaped like them, no pictures of them...there was just nothing.

He began to feel the weight of his loss more heavily but before he could truly collapse a low growling noise caught his attention. It was hostile and abruptly turned into a sharp sound as if something was shouting at him.

Jumping at the foreign sound he fell back against the shelves behind him and it all came tumbling down on top of him resulting in a loud _CRASH!..._How unkingly of him...and when he looked up into the concerned eyes of the strange girl he felt foolish...doing something so clumsy in front of a girl.

...

Alice

When she ran out into the room that the crash had sounded from she was greeted with an enormous mess, N was at the centre of it all staring up at her in surprise. He didn't act anything like she thought he would...in the game he seemed so mysterious and cryptic, here he was almost childish...adorable really.

He sat in the middle of this mess, covered in wool that had been stored on the self, when he tried to stand up he got a little tangled in the wool and a low growling sound was coming from the big black figure that stood so close to him.

"Hewie!" Alice exclaimed grabbing the dog quickly pulling him away from N, Hewie was a good dog he'd never attack someone suddenly like that but it was clearly threatening and so she kept him away from N who was still trying to find his way out of the mess he had made.

"What's that...?" He asked looking up from the tangled mess of wool at her. "A Hewie?" He repeated the name he had heard.

"No, this is a dog...more to the point this is a...uh...a..." Racking her brains for the name she cursed herself, if it had been a husky or a lab it would be easy to remember!

"Ah! Of course this is a dog that I named Hewie when he was a pup and he is a black Norwegian elkhound." She said proud she remembered the name but she quickly explained the way the dogs name worked.

"Like you can give pokemon nick names 'Hewie' is this dogs nick name and the name 'black Norwegian elkhound' is the exact type of animal it is while 'dog' describes many animals...like fire types and physic types. Understand?"

"I believe...I am getting the idea.." He murmured but it was clear his mind was stuck on his own struggles against the wool. Kneeling down next to him she began to help him find his way out of it.

"I am terribly sorry for the mess I have made..." He told her looking genuinely sorry for causing her trouble but she just smiled at him.

"It's okay, I had to clean up anyway. Hewie, this is N he is a...friend of mine so no more growling at him." Alice told the black beast in a scolding manner and it stared back at her with an intense look for a moment and she swore he was communicating with her...

Hewie was a perceptive dog and it never took her long to teach him anything and so when he sat himself down lazily and stopped growling she knew he had gotten the idea.

"You're a good boy Hewie." She praised him with a bright smile. The dogs tail gave a slight wag when it was praised by her, Hewie had always been a kind dog and she was glad that he was with her, without Hewie it was likely she might have died of loneliness by this point.

She became aware of N's eyes on her and her companion and that gaze...it was so sharp that she was sure it was meant to pierce her very soul.  
"What is it...?" She asked softly turning her eyes away from Hewie to N who, despite being tangled in wool, was giving her such an intense stare.

"This...animal, are you its master?" The question seemed innocent enough but for some reason it grabbed at her breath and heart. N's gaze slipped form her eyes to look at her hand…where the toy pokeball still sat….suddenly things seemed very different, the air was tense around them

"..." Alice couldn't form a response, she knew that this was another mile stone he would meet. The difference between pets and pokemon...somehow she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

N despised pokemon that were abused by their trainers...and in this world it was no different, people abandoned and hurt animals...would he hate her if she told him Hewie was her pet?

It didn't matter.  
Hewie was her closest companion and...the relationship between the two of them was nothing to be ashamed of...time to teach N another lesson.

"Yes." She murmured her fingers going back into working on the wool he was stuck in. "Hewie...is what pokemon are to their trainers. He lives by my side, keeps me company, makes me smile...and...I love Hewie. Of course...I've never entered him into some sort of fight."

N was watching her as she spoke and she knew she couldn't stop there or he was going to get the wrong idea.  
"Of course Hewie is very happy."

She mused looking back at the big dog who's tail continued to slowly wag back and forth as if to prove her point he was happy and she laughed.  
"See? When a dog wags their tail like that it means they are happy!"

N's serious expression faltered when she said that, interest taking its place.  
"Really...? How do you know when they are sad?" He asked curiously looking at Hewie closely before shaking his head sharply.

"Wait… Don't distract me!" He all but shouted just as she had gotten the last of the wool off of him.  
However...once that restraining wool was gone...

Alice found herself on the ground, N's hands on either side of her head as he loomed over her. Alice had no idea what had happened...she lay there staring up at him, she knew that he had pinned her down this way...but...it had been so fast she had almost missed it.

In the back ground she could hear Hewie growling again…he was such a clever dog and he saw this as a violent move against her so he was getting angry. Alice put her hand up towards the sound of his growling, as if to tell him it was alright…she didn't want to see N's throat being torn out by her angry canine friend.

She could not draw her eyes away from N's though…there was something so dark in his gaze. What had happened to the clumsy brightly smiling boy that had been tangled in the wool? Why was he suddenly….scary?

"Tell me honestly sensei..." He whispered his voice low as he did. "This animal, do you really think it wants to be owned by you?" This situation felt familiar...didn't this seem like the N she had come to know from the game?

"Do you really think any animal or pokemon can be happy under trainers tyranny?" He continued the dark glint in his eyes stopping her breath...he was truly passionate about this.

"You...and all trainers delude yourselves into thinking that you know best for them, that you cannot possibly be wrong...that pokemon can just be used as tools for you!"

No matter how much she had admired him in the game...this wasn't going to slide by her so easily!

_Snap!_

Alice's hand snapped out striking him sharply, the sound of the contact echoing around the room. N was frozen in place eyes wide and confused as his cheek slowly began to turn red. Her hand lingered against his cheek for a moment longer before she dropped it back down to the floor letting it land limp by her side.

"Tyranny?...Maybe but..." Alice was nervous her heart hammering in her ears but the adrenaline that pumped through her body gifted her with the ability to continue speaking. "I will never regret what I do! As a trainer as a master...I'll never regret having them by my side!" Opening her eyes she glared at him and continued angrily.

"How can you judge us!" She demanded. "You have chosen a stereo type of every trainer based on your own assumptions and accusations! Have you ever watched the love between a pokemon and a human with an open mind!?"

"No matter what you think...no matter what you say...I believe that pokemon, animals and humans...can be the very best of friends! Yes, there will be a few that hurt them but there are so many more wonderful people that will take them in! That will protect them and form bonds with them that you cannot hope to understand, N!"

"It is…the mutual trust between us all that bonds us together. If I believed they were not happy with me then I would let them go…but…I've never once gotten that feeling! I won't force them away. I believe...that pokemon are really very happy by our side!" Her ranting came to an end and she lay there panting softly...that rant and shouting had really taken it out of her.

He was staring at her his eyes still wide and his cheek still red. She realised she had stopped talking so much about animals and more about pokemon...she had gotten so worked up and embarrassed herself. Turning her face away from him she could feel the heat rising up her neck and into her face.

"Alice you..." N began to say something just as someone appeared in the doorway, opening the door with a bang. Standing in the door way was her mother and father, they must have been home from work early...they stood in the door way staring down at the two of them.

Now the situation began to sink in...the room was a mess with things toppled over and broken and there was a strange boy with green hair pinning their daughter down on the floor in front of them...oh joy bunnies.

...

Me: "Urg…."

Alice: "That took you a while…what were you doing that took you so long?"

Me: "School just started again and I released 2 chapters on my other fic….it's like hell here."

Alice: "Say weren't you meant to write 5,000 words for this one? Not to mention you left it at a strange spot…"

Me: "Shut up Alice or I swear to god I will make something bad happen to you." *Glares.*

N: "Why am I never in this part?"

Me: "Quiet boy! Shoo, shoo!" *Swats at him with a stick.* "You'll make the fan girls squee! Away with you!"


	5. Chapter 5 Questions and Answers

Chapter 5 Questions and Answers.

Alice was frozen under N, her parents standing in the door way looking in at the scene with unreadable expression. Her tongue felt like led and her heart was hammering away wildly in her chest.

This must have looked just awful. No one had spoken and those few seconds lasted for what seemed like decades. It was N that opened his mouth first.

"Sensei…are these domestic servants of yours?" Alice couldn't cover his mouth fast enough. He had basically just called her parents slaves! His question had loosened her parents tongues to….just bloody brilliant.

"Alice honey! What's going on here!?" Her father asked in horror, looking mortified to see his baby girl down on the floor like that.

"Dad I…" She began to explain the situation but her mother's harsh gaze cut right across her. She tensed as her mother pushed her glasses up her nose, she could almost hear the 'shink' sound effect when she opened her eyes to glare at them.

"It would appear that our daughter is being held own by some strange boy, papa I think we should proceed with getting a base ball bat." Her mother was scary….scary! Even her father seemed to shrink away from the silent malice that rolled off of her.

"H-Hun…." He began almost trying to reason with her but when he looked at her again his gaze became dark also…it was his baby girl! He had his father vision going, no doubt what he saw was much worse than what it really was. "Indeed….a base ball bat…" He murmured darkly getting ready to turn away.

"Grab some rope as well we should restrain this man till the police arrive." Her mother was calm and cold while her father seemed frantic and furious…her parents…were just a little silly sometimes.

"W-Wait a second! You two everything is fine! Wait!" She shouted finally getting a full sentence out. As she spoke N got up abruptly, she assumed he was worried about being beaten and tied up but as soon as he was standing….he _bowed_.

Her parents stopped moving and everything sort of came to a stand-still while N continued to move.

"Forgive me, I did not realise you were her parents I am sorry for being so terribly rude." He said in a manner that was just far to proper and polite…he had been raised to be king after all. He raised his head slightly and gave them a charming smile. "My name is Natural Harmonia Gropius and I am currently Alice's stud-"

Realising he was about to say student Alice cut across quickly. "He is a friend of mine that just moved here. We just got tangled up in the wool!" She said, explaining the pinning position but her parents didn't look all that convinced at all. It was once again N that remained calm in this situation.

"Alice told you that there was a house that you rented out, I was hoping you might consider renting it to me for the time being." So…god…damn…PROPER! Alice couldn't wrap her head around it was so strange to see him working this way.

"Oh…I see so that is how it is…" Her mother murmured quietly in thought, she was a serious woman…and she was all buissness and N was talking about just that. Her father was a little less forgiving.

"Mary! This boy was assaulting our daughter!" He ranted, much like a child. He was the passionate one in the relationship and that was just fine but…sometimes he just went over the top.

"Nonsense darling, didn't she just say they had an accident." She said dismissing her husbands fears easily while eyeing N, judging him. "However...you look perhaps only a few years older than our own daughter, how do you intend to pay for the rent?" She asked pulling her glasses down slightly as she gave him that frightening gaze that had almost everyone afraid of her.

Alice realised to her dismay that N didn't _have_ any money and Alice certainly didn't have any on her to pay for him. She glanced to N who seemed be confident despite the situation and her mother's awful stare.

"Willt his sufficma'ma?" He asked reaching into his pocket to pull out a wad of cash. Straight up front he was giving her more money then Alice had ever seen in one place. Staring there gaping at the money he had just seemed to create out of thin air.

N looked at it strangely like he'd never seen it before. "My apologies." He said with a frown mistaking their startled looks for meaning something else. "The money…seems to have change…" He murmured running his fingers over the hundreds of dollars he had been holding out to her.

Her mother recovered first of them to recover, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose she cleared her throat calmly. "I see. Yes, yes, this will do just nicely. Of course there will be rules and introductions to come later…but I have to get to a meeting…it seems to be an unideal situation." Her mother murmured in thought before fixing Alice with her wicked gaze.

"Alice. You know our rules and how to look after the house. You will give him the run through while we are gone. If you'd excuse us for a moment." Her mother smiled to N brightly before taking her husband by the hand and leading him to the kitchen.

N was still staring at the money…baffled by its change. Alice could only assume he had meant to give them pokemon currency ….but instead he had realities money. It was like he had really just stepped into the real world.

Just as she was about to try and explain it to him she saw her mother calling her over silently with her hand. Walking to the kitchen her mother glanced to her father who bent down slightly as if he was to explain some sort of secret.

"Sorry to be so sudden Alice but we'll need you to baby sit again. Your mother and I have been called to a work meeting again." Her father told her softly and she felt her heart drop slightly, this was nothing new…work was important.

"Just for tonight?" She asked quietly and her heart became even colder when her father shook his head with a sigh.

"The meeting is taking place out of town, we should be gone the whole weekend. Will you be able to handle it on your own? We could call some professional help…" He began to offer what he always did but she sharply shook her head.

"Not a chance in-!...I mean…no it's alright I'll look after everything." She corrected herself quickly and as always…it was over looked or completely missed by her parents. Smiling her father kissed her forehead.

"You're a good girl Alice. See you when we get back home." He praised her before leaving the kitchen no doubt to grab his always packed bag. Her mother pat her on the head gently before following after him.

Alice stood alone in the kitchen for a while until a gentle hand rested on her shoulder making her jump. When she turned around she only saw N there looking at her with a confused expression. "Did you have an argument with your sires?" He asked her, he looked so innocent and yet…so….different.

She smiled brightly to him and shook her head. "Not at all. My parents are traveling away for work so…it's just us for a little while." Turning to N she offered that same false smile, Alice didn't mind baby sitting but…she still felt awfully bitter about this.

N gazed at her face in silence for a while and she began to fear that maybe he was going to ask more questions but thankfully he just nodded accepting her answer without question.

"Well anyway!" Alice was quick to move on from that topic. "Come with me we'll go to the house and you can get settled in…then I have some things to show you to try and explain how this world is linked to yours." Without looking to see if he was coming she began to gather up blankets and pillows in her arms.

She was aware of N's shadow constantly looming over her body, it didn't matter…he was just hovering around her. Sighing heavily she gathered up all the snacks and blankets into a bag handing them to N as she did.

"This is the key to the other house, please go ahead and get yourself settled in. I'm sorry but I have to start cooking dinner so please wait a little while for me to bring the things to show you." She apologised for being busy but he didn't seemed to register her words at all. It was like he was moving about in a daze.

She wondered if her was alright as he wandered out the door himself…perhaps he was starting to realise just what type of situation he was in? Alice sighed again, it was like her sighs could create cloudes.

Alice hadn't want to leave him on his own to long so she quickly got the food in the oven, she had thought her parents might suddenly leave so she had left the food ready just incase…but she wasn't prepared to feed four people.

Just as that thought crossed her mind the front door slammed open followed by screaming that startled her.

"Big sister! Big sister!" That was Vincent's voice screaming for her and sure enough a moment later a flash of blonde hair came bolting around the corner and flying into her body. She almost toppled over to the ground with the little boy clinging to her legs.

The little boy that clung to her legs and torso was her little brother, he had shoulder length blond hair and bright blue eyes, for a boy he had a deceivingly feminie face. This little boy's name was Vincent and he was her younger brother.

"There's a creepy guy out there!" Came another loud voice, another child's voice. Another young one appeared around the corner, her other little brother Elliot. The two children were twins and they were hadly apart from each other. They were her adorable little siblings.

"A creepy man?" She asked gently while patting back Vincent's hair, his grip around Alice's legs was getting stronger every day…sure enough one day he would snap his big sisters legs with that death hug.

"He has funny hair!" Groaning inwardly she realised that they must have seen N going into the house next door…and mistaken him for an intruder. Elliot was already hoisting his baseball bat over his shoulder.

"I could take him." Elliot said stubbornly, her little brother was all to violent and confident. He was very good at every competitive sport he tried…but not so good at mind games.

"That man is bigger than us…" Vincent murmured looking terrified by the mere idea of going up against N who really didn't have much to think of in the muscle department.

"You're a man Vincent! Start acting like it!" Elliot was quick to scold his twin brother, he liked to think he was the older of the two of them. Vincent let out a wordless cry when scolded by his brother and buried his face into Alice's torso again. "A man should protect his house, his honor and the wemon!" Elliot must have been watching another knight movie.

Little brother or not…Alice wasn't going to let him get away with thinking she needed protecting. With that thought she slammed her fist on the top of his head. Crying out in pain tears budded at the corners of his eyes as he held the place she had hit.

"Quit trying to act so high up, a knight does his duty silently and not because of fame or glory! Do you job and don't look down on people or you're not a knight!" Alice scolded him and she saw a wicked smile cross onto Vince's face. Despite being the weaker and smaller of the two brothers he was most certainly more manipulative of the two and while his twin brother was good at sports he was extremely skilled in mind games like chess.

Clamping her hands down on both of her little brother's heads she sighed heavily. "Pay attention now you two. That 'strange' man is going to our gust for a little while so be polite and don't insult him." She instructed the two sternly. "He is renting out the house next door so that means no more sneaking in there any more." The two looked startled, their big sister knew the whole time what they had been doing.

"Don't look so worried, I won't tell the old ones." She told them softly like she was sharing a secret with the two of them. "I use to sneak into that house all the time, I won't tell if you don't so there." Unhooking Vincent's hold she walked to the kitchen again just to check on dinner and make sure it wasn't burning.

"What's for dinner?" Elliot asked, completely forgetting all about the guy staying in their house. He had the attention span of a flee and food was always much more appealing to him.

"I decided to make ravioli." She replied with a small nod, her brother's eyes lit up at that and she did her best not to smile to openly. She made ravioli because it was their faveorite…she wanted them to be happy when their parents were out of town and that's why she refused professional help.

Alice had basically been raised by baby sitters and family members that were not her parents…she had hated it and so she was doing her best to make sure that her two precious little brothers didn't have to be looked after that way.

"It will be ready in a little while so go and play for a while. Don't forget to feed Hewie tonight either!" Alice reminded them as the two ran out the door…energetic as always. Leaving back to her room she began to pack all the pokemon goodies into a bag…it was going to be a long night and she felt a swell of excitement grow in her chest…just how would showing these things to N go?

Would he take it well? Would he be angry? Scared? Confused? She wasn't sure just what feelings he would have when seeing the things she had to show him…she hoped he would take it well.

Sure enough half an hour passed and there was no sighing of N, he must be getting settled in like she had told them to. Calling Elliot and Vincent in from playing she served the food to them and began to clean up while they ate.

They even ate differently, Elliot scarfed down his food with amazing gusto and Vincent took small bites savouring the flavour. No matter what they did though they both enjoyed the food she had served so it didn't matter even when she had to rub Elliot's face down with a cloth…such a messy eater.

"Where are you going sis?" Eliot asked her when he saw her heading out the door with a plate of food and a backpack on, he looked so suspicious of her.

"I am taking dinner to our guest, just wait here for me and don't cause any trouble." Kneeling down in front of her cute little brother she rubbed the top of his head before turning to leave, only to be caught by Vincent's gentle hand. Turning back to look at the blonde haired youth she paused seeing the pained expression he wore.

"You won't be gone long?" Vincent and Elliot both had their own way of showing their emotions. Alice understood…she really did, to many times had their parents just vanished out the door and not come back for days on end, leaving them in the care of people they did not know.

Smiling gently she nodded to them both. "Don't you worry, I'll be back in time to give you desert and put you to bed. Be good and I'll give you a treat." She promised them both finally able to free herself form her little brothers gripping hands.

As soon as she was out the door and into the cold air she sighed heavily, she adored those two but she wondered if she was doing right by them sometimes. "I'm sixteen and already a single mother." The joke was lame and she thanked god there was no one around to hear it.

When she opened the door to the creepy wooden house she was surprised at how dark it was, creeping through the house she hesitantly called N's name. There was a thump from upstairs and it made her jump.

"Up here." N called down to her, making her breath a weak sigh of relief, sometimes she was such a scardy cat. Heading up stairs she found N sitting in what seemed to be a pile of baby toys. Seeing her his expression suddenly turned bright, he looked so terribly happy.

"Look! I've found a train set!" He exclaimed olding out the toy train to her. She was smiling when a strange sound echoed around them, N's stomach was growling. Blinking he looked surprised by his own body's actions and stared at his stomach with a frown.

"Am I….sick?" He murmured softly making Alice frown, how could anyone mistake a stomach growl for sickness. "Hey am I dying!?" N looked at her with wide terrified eyes and she almost laughed at him.

"You're just hungry…calm down N I'll just give you some food and you'll be fine." He didn't seem to be listening to her, having been looked after by plasma so closely for so long…perhaps he had never had his stomach grumble like that before. That seemed a little far fetched though.

"You'll treat me?!" He asked her with that worried expression and Alice decided to abuse his current state of mind.

"Clean up the toys and I'll give you that antidote to your illness." Saying this very seriously she watched as he got to work busily cleaning with all his might. "N have you set up a bed of any kind?" Alice asked and he paused before pointing up above their heads…towards the attic?

"I found the perfect place. It was hidden like a secret so that's where I'll stay." He told her firmly, she was worried that there might be dead things up there so while he was cleaning she pulled down the hatch to the attic and climbed up inside.

It was actually rather clean up in the attic and the gentle light from the moon shone in through the window. There was a bunch of blankets and mattresste up before the window and it looked like N had already settled in up here. Toy trains and soccer balls that ha dbeen packed away for storage scattered along the floor.

Pulling herself up into his new room, at first she was going to tell him to use a real room but the attic seemed so nice and hidden that she ended up taking a liking to it. setting down her back pack she pulled out the dinner she had made him.

Just as she did this N's green hair appeared at the hatch. "All done cleaning no fix me." He demanded, taking on that kingly tone again. it was startling to see how different his two behaviours were. Sometimes he was beyond cute and other times he made her want to bow her head and curtsy…all part of being the hero of Unova she guessed.

"Alright come on." She gestured to the food she ha dmade before beginning to unpack the bag of pokemon goodies she had brought him. She heard him eating the food and smiled in relief, at least he didn't dislike her cooking.

"This is…really good for medician. Ghetsis always said that medication was suppose to be awful." N said absent mindly as he ate his food. Alice wondered just what N thought of ghtsis…she would certainly ask him some day.

"N I got some things to show you." She said once all the pokemon toys and games were set out on the floor by the bed. Pokeballs and pokemon figures al scattered along the floor with every game that they had ever released. N sat down next to her with the bowl still in his hand as he looked over all the items.

"This is…definitely them so you do…know what pokemon are." He seemed like he was working on just wrapping his head around it. "These are all yours?" He questioned her.

"That's right, I've been collecting pokemon items since I was very young. I kept everything I ever got, I've played all the games…even the spin offs." She smiled brightly before picking up a pokemon book that showed the pokedex from generation one all the way to N's own game.

"I use to be able to name every pokemon they ever made but..somewhere after Dialga I began to lose track." Laughing gently she let him flick through the pages, that was her oldest book and so it had the scribbles she put on it as a child.

He stopped on the page that had the most scribbles. "You've drawn all over the Eevee page…do you like this pokemon?" He asked her almost politely and Alice all but exploded.

"I love Eevee! I love everything about Eevee and its entire family. I've never disliked a pokemon but Eevee is my all time favourite I would do anything to look after my Eevee." Her eyes all but shone with excitement that she got when talking about the small fox like pokemon.

"Eevee was always very important to me, I wanted nothing more than to have an Eevee by my side of so long!" Alice stopped talking suddenly realising she had been speaking openly to someone, even with her parents she didn't say much…so speaking that much…was a new feeling for her. N paid no attention to her sudden stop.

"What are these?" He asked reaching forward to pick up one of the DS pokemon games.

This was where things got a little more difficult.

"These are….what started pokemon I guess. In our world…pokemon is a fictional game created years ago. We play through different pokemon adventures on these games. They are relasing another game some time soon also…that game is pokemon white one. I had only just started playing it again a little before you showed up…let me show you." Alice gingerly took the game from his hands to slide it into the DS.

She became aware of the intensity of his stare as he watched her work. Turning the game on she showed the screen to him as the opening started…as N was shown on the screen. She watched his face change as different emotions took him. First she saw surprise and then confusion and then something that might have been anger.

"This is me…." He murmured watching the scene where he was crowned play out. "When I took charge of plasma…" He looked at her skeptically and she did her best to have a blank face. "How could this be on here…"

There was a electronic cry of a powerful pokemon on the game….Zekrom. N's expression changed again, eyes widening in surprise. "Zekrom…. Uh it's stopped…" Taking the game back she stared up her save showing him the little image of a girl on the screen.

"That's!" N's expression transformed again, his eyes widening and mouth ajar when he saw the little charcter. "Touko! Argh!" His hands gripped the sides of her head like the name had caused him pain, dropping the game Alice grabbed his shoulder worriedly.

"N? N are you okay?" His body trembled slightly but the painful expression he wore slowly faded away to one of confusion.

"It….was just a head ache…" He murmured, heads aches however didn't come and go that quickly in her experience. "Continue…show me more…" He murmured quietly.

Hesitantly Alice did continue sitting closer to him so they could both see the screen. She would ask him about his life later…for now she would show him this and not ask any of her own questions.

"I see that you know here….this is the female character Touko…or as we call her White." She felt him shifting beside her…his shoulder against her own. He must really be trying to wrap his head around all of this…discovering his life was a game for this world.

"I play as White, I control how she moves and occasionally what she says. I take her through Unova and show her all kinds of pokemon and experiences. Look do you recognise this place?" She showed him the screen again…having White enter the flying Gym.

"That's…Nimbascity…." N's voice was close to her ear and she tried not to let that thought embarrass her to much.

"That's right, I'm going to get the badge off of Elesa." Alice said brightly but was surprised by his sudden dark mood.

"In these games…you play as a trainer?" She wondered briefly why she hadn't realised that would upset him….he hated trainers after all.

"Yes….like I said I play as White who completes her journey in getting gym badges….and…" Just as she began to speak again N suddenly grabbed the game staring at it intently…he had just seen himself.

"That's…is that meant to be…me?" He asked in horror, this was the ferris wheel scene…this was what most people remembered most about him.

"Yeah…that's you." Alice murmured watching the scene play out.

"I remember this…she was going to fight the plasma members so I let them escape….I fought her after being on the ride with her. I told her who I was…she hardly said a thing to me. Why is this….why is _this _in a game!?" He demanded becoming more and more agitated.

"_Why am I the villain!?"_

The question left an icy silence hanging in the air around them, it was true in this game…N was the villain that had to be defeated. Alice sighed softly slowly closing the lid of the DS leaving them sitting in silence.

"I'm sorry N but…in this story you are the villain…it is our job to stop you and-" He pushed her down onto the bed his eyes blazing with silent fury.

"Your job? I am not a villain! I want to save pokemon I've never wanted anything more than to save them from hell!" He had begun shouting at her now, shaking her slightly as he did. "Why am I painted as a bad person!?"

"N stop it! It hurts!" She spoke without thinking and hurt him more than she wanted to. His fingers immediately released her drawing his hands back to his chest with a pained look.

"I'm sorry….I didn't mean to…" His tone was softer now and again silence fell between them, slowly she pulled herself up off of the bed and back into a sitting positon.

"It's okay…" She murmured meeting his gaze with a warmer one…she didn't want him to be worried.

"How does it end?" He asked her softly catching her off guard.

"End?"

"Yes, how does the game end….what happens to me…what happens to her and the pokemon?" Alice quickly opened up pokemon black, she had just defeated the elite four and had gone to confront N so she could show him the ending.

…..

The game started up and White stood at the top of the champion's stage…a great shaking took the earth by surprise as something impossibly rose up from the ground.

Turning towards the source of the sound White watched as this impossible thing happened right in front of her. Her friends stood by her side but ultimately she knew that when they parted ways…she would be going solo to fight N.

A castle had pulled itself free of the earth, rising up higher and higher in its own glorios reveal. White watched as it rose knowing full well that N was behing this and that she would have to fight him.

He had defeated Adler….just before she had the chance to do it. The black ball that sat in her back pack seemed to weigh her down when its white counter part was fear and flying around with N nestled on its back.

Not for the first time White considered just how worthy she was to carry this thing around with her…if she was not the hero that could bring Zekrom from its dormant state…if her belief was not strong enough against N's own.

Closing her eyes she thought of the green haired male she had met. Walking towards the castle images of their encounters buzzed through her mind…his innocent smile and judging eyes. How he had spoken to her pokemon to judge her from them. The times he had seemed so over joyed and the times where a dark expression clouded his whole face.

There were many different types of N…the one that seemed innocent and childish that had been foudged by pokemon's love and the one that was serious, determined and…perhaps wicked even that had been created for the king he was meant to be.

What did White think of N? Just what type of person was he to her? She wasn't sure of the answer to that but for the time being…she had to stop him.

She thought of all the times he had jumped out at her, scared her out of her skin and fought with her both in battle and beliefs. She wanted N to see the truth of what was happening…and so…she set off into the castle. Ready to face N. This belief that was so strong inside of her…she was sure it could reach N also.

When she stepped into the castle she was confronted by seven familiar figures…the seven sages. Anger filled her and she silently met all seven gazes…they were all full of useless words for her…she wasn't going to be stopped by them. She wasn't going to back down. Drawing her pokeball into one hand she prepared for battle.

However….just then for White….

….everything went black.

….

Me: "Sorry it took so long… XD I hope it won't take that long again. I was stuck up on my other fan fic that just finished…soooorry."

White: "….." *Wonders why she is a silent protagonist.*

Me: "For now you are like Red or Black Rock Shooter! Haha! Have fun with that!"

Alice: "So am I still an OC?"

Me: 'Kinda….live with it for now, until next time!"


	6. Chapter 6 This Situation

Chapter 6

This Situation...This girl.

Author's Note: This is short but it's out quickly to make up for taking so god damn long with the last one. My tests are at a break point so hopefully I can write more quickly. ^^  
Hope you're enjoying it, in the next chapter there should be some more fluff obviously sooo...have fun! Review if you like! :D

…...

Alice

Surprised Alice sat away from the game wondering just what had happened. On the screen of the game was nothing but a dull pale black like it had just shut itself down, however the back light was still on.

"What is it?" He N leant over her shoulder to look at the blank screen. "Are you thinking about something?" Obviously confused by her silence he tried to get her to talk again.

"Well…the game just broke down…" She explained, surprised it had just shut off like that.

"That doesn't matter, you can just tell me yourself." She had wanted him to see it for himself but…telling him might just be the best way to go….but she didn't want to. Getting up she fished her computer out of her bag.

"It's aright…there should be a video of it." She said flippantly going onto YouTube so she could flick through the pokemon movies…but…the longer she looked the more she began to fret…there wasn't a single video anywhere.

She was sure that someone would have been able to post it , even the play throughs that said they were completely broke off at the same place her game was. She turned to the pokemon wiki next…but…even that had nothing. She even checked under the spoiler parts.

No matter where she looked…there was no ending.

N had watched her intently the whole time and when she turned to him another realising hit her…Alice had no idea how the game ended. Staring blankly into space she tried to grasp a memory that seemed to evade her.

Hadn't she just been saying the other day to her friends that she had finished the game again? Hadn't she told them the ending herself…?

The harder she tried to remember the more it slipped away and eventually she was left with no ending and a head ache.

"Well?" N's voice broke her concentration and when she looked at his waiting face she tried all the more to have something to tell him…but where the game had ended was the extent of her memory.

"I…don't know the ending…" She whispered quietly. "I've finished the game at least three times…but…I have no idea how it ends…." Feeling as though she had failed him she turned her gaze towards the ground.

"….Perhaps…that is because you're not meant to know." N's response surprised her. When she looked at him he was the most serious face. "If I am here…and your games are real…wouldn't it be correct to assume that maybe the reason there is no ending is because I haven't finished it yet myself?"

He sounded so sure of himself that even Alice found herself taking comfort in his words. Nodding slowly she sat back down on the bed abandoning the computer and games.

"If you can't tell me how my own story ends then tell me more about animals." N commanded and she almost missed the slight concern in his eyes…he was saying this to take her mind off of her failure.

Alice happily obliged to his new request.

….

N

Listening to the girl talk about animals was as confusing as it was fascinating. On her screen she showed him various kinds of animals and occasionally tried to explain how they lived and the difference between them in pokemon.

They didn't cry their names and none of them created tornadoes or tsunamis. She would occasionally tell him about their advanced hearing and special skills.

"For example even Hewie has his own special skills. His hearing and sense of smell is much better than ours…but his eye sight isn't all that great, he can't even see colours. Most dogs are colour blind." She explained things to him simply but with so much knowledge it was hard to keep up.

N was trained to be a good student…Ghetsis had trained him to be attentive and clever but not to speak out of turn or be distracted. These lessons turned out to be handy when listening to this girl chatter away.

He took notice of the way her eyes lit up passionately when speaking. She would get lost in her own little world while talking about these animals…did she perhaps love them? He thought about how people in his world loved pokemon…but was her love also as abusive as that of a trainer.

"That beast that stays with you…" N spoke quietly. The girl always fell silent when he spoke as if every word he was saying was something new and unexplored…..was she also studying him as he was studying her and her world?

"Is he perhaps like pokemon are to trainers?" The question fazed her but as she always did…she answered him honestly, it was as though the girl didn't have a lying bone in her body.

"Not quite….I'd never take Hewie out fighting but….he stays with us and I feed him and play with him…he's been with me since he was just a puppy." The word 'puppy' threw him off a bit…what was a puppy? In the context he decided she meant an egg. "He does wear a collar though…that is something like a pokeball I guess and I…love Hewie to bits."

Her smile was so far away and soft that he wondered if she was lost in a memory. "However….if I were to compare use to trainer and pokemon…..we'd be the closest thing that there is in this world to that."

"How do you view trainers?" N's question was sharper than he intended it to be and he saw her flinch…was she really so timid?

"I….am not sure how to answer that. But….hmmm…" She paused to think hand going to her chin as she concentrated on her answer. "I think….trainers love their pokemon. Trainers and pokemon working side by side to capture a mutual goal. Friends and allies that create powerful bonds…yes that's what I think." She nodded with the brightest smile like she had made up her mind.

N didn't like that at all.

"How can you say that? Trainers use pokemon to fight their battles, enslave them, abuse them and then throw them away when they aren't wanted anymore!" She looked at him with big eyes…perhaps she had scared her.

He was sure she would cry or run away so he was surprised when her eyes narrowed on him angrily.

"That's not true! There are good people and bad people alike that love and protect pokemon! You can't say that every person that is a trainer is bad to their pokemon! Trainers love their partners and they enjoy working together!" Her scolding words were filled with an entirely different passion to her earlier cool and mellow love for animals. This was at hot as fire.

"There will always be bad people that want to abuse them yes but why take happiness away from everyone that loves their pokemon! Friendship and companionship that bond them together is too important to those away because of a few bad people! I will continue to believe in trainers and their pokemon because….because…I know that there is good in everyone!"

The girl fell silent glaring down towards the ground almost as if that outburst had drained her energy. N stared at her surprised by the heat behind her words…had he hit a nerve and not even known it? How was one to treat a woman when she behaved like this?

Before he could make up his mind Alice got to her feet. "I'm sorry if you don't believe in other people but…I want to….I really want to believe in the goodness of those around me so I will keep believing in trainers and pokemon."

N's expression became cold even though he had not meant to show her such a cruel expression…one shaped by his father to perfection. "And what about their freedom? You've played as a trainer in those games…you have a _pet _so what about that? Do you think they like being slaves?"

Her eyes widened when she looked at him…he had caught her. Those eyes that were so distraught he had seem many times before…she would apologise for being rude, tell him she was wrong and would repent and he would calmly forgive her wrongs.

That wasn't what he got.

"If my pokemon or Hewie truly wanted to leave me…I wouldn't stop them. Hewie has run outside on his own so many times…he could leave us whenever he damn well pleases but he always comes back licks my hand and falls asleep by my bed side…"

"I might not speak their language perfectly like you do but…I know I could tell if any of my pokemon were sad. It's just a game here but even so…I adore my pokemon! I will not do anything that they do not like!" Her second outburst was no calmer than the last and it left him speechless.

Turning away from him she began to pack up her things angrily. "My brothers are waiting for me to tuck them in…get some rest N." She sounded so upset with him he always apologised to her…but he wouldn't let his kingly face slide away.

"Tomorrow I'll come by and get you…I'll take you out and show you some more animals…and we can figure out how to get you home." She didn't look at him while packing up and even when she turned to leave…her face was angled to the floor.

Did she despise seeing his face now?

That thought hurt him…he knew he was a freak Ghetsis had always told him no one would like him and that's why he had never had a friend….But….did another person hate him so much they couldn't eve bear the sight of him like his father?

He almost reached out to stop her from leaving and he spoke a name. He just wished it had been hers.

"Touko."

She stopped to look at him and for a second standing in her place was Touko…but…that image quickly faded away. He expected her to be angry but instead she smiled sadly.

"Get some rest N….you're over tired." Those words were cold but…not as cruel as he deserved them to be. With that she left him in the attic on his own and he only just heard the last few words cast back to him.

"I'll make sure you see some great things…it'll be a big day and I got lots to show you...so...just leave everything to your guide." Those were the quiet words she left with him as the hatch quietly closed behind her.

Despite the oddness of this situation and the strange girl he had been lumped in with...N did not feel unahappy. Frustrated with the fight they had and her way of looking at things yes...but not unhappy.

If anything he was excited now. Just what could she show him in this new world? What was there for him to see and new animals to learn about? Was everything in this world different?

Nervous and excited he almost began to bounce up and down like a child but had to restrain himself...it was so hard...he had to be a kingly person and he must be the perfect took for his father and yet he always had such giddy feelings. If his father had seen the pure look of excitement on his face he was sure he would have been struck.

Calming down his mind began to wander to the darker side of his thoughts...as his mind went there he noticed his guides form appearing at the door as she left, maybe she was still angry with him after all that?

Sitting on his bed he watched her cross the road with a frown…her words for some reason felt so terribly nostalgic to him….had he heard similar things somewhere before? He was unsure of that but…he felt as though he had.

Closing his eyes he thought about her formula…the way she spoke and smiled…when she looked sad or angry…the more he thought about her formula the more confused he became.

"You really think that pokemon and humans can be friends? That other people can be good? Then….why is it I've never even had a friend….well…as my guide I'll ask you one day." Those words he spoke to himself made him smile.

She would be an interesting new formula.

…...

Me: "It's short I know but…at least it is out and I think that I should realise another chapter after taking such a long time before."

White: "…." *Is not in this at all!*

Me: "Oh be quiet."

Alice: "I think people want Touko…"

Me: "They can wait! FLUFF IS TO COME!"

White: "…." *Quiet facepalm.*


	7. Chapter 7- Bird Cage

Authors Note:

I got it out faster this time see! SEE!  
Well here it is, short but fast I hope you guys don't mind that.  
If anyone has anything in particular that they absolutely want me to put in here please let me know and I love, love, love, LOVE reviews!  
They make me write faster and make me very happy. :DDD Enjoy the fluff and silly stuff. N!

Chapter 7 Our First Field Trip. (Part 1 Bird Cage)

Alice.

Waking up to someone looming over your bed was…unsettling to put it mildly.

And that was just what Alice woke up to that morning. When her tired eyes finally pulled away from blue hues she was met with a mess of green hair and a pair of piercing grey eyes.

For a few seconds girl and boy sat there like that staring at each other, one of them had to give and it just happened to be Alice that snapped first.

She let out an ungodly scream.

N stumbled off of her bed when she let out the shriek of fear, Alice had a vague understanding of who it was but not enough to hold her tongue.

"H-Hey! Why are you shouting like that?" N asked absolutely shocked by her outburst. Throwing the covers off of her she marched up to him and began to kick him where ever she could.

"Where do you get off walking into my room and staring at me like that! You creep! You absolute creep!" She cursed and shouted all sorts of nasty things at him before he said something in an eerily calm voice that made her stop in her tracks.

"Well...if you would calm down for a moment it might be a good idea to put on some more clothes." There was no emphases on that simple suggestion but it made Alice come to a skidding stop, foot still in the air above him as she had been about to kick him again.

Slowly her mind put two and two together, each night Alice would go to sleep in a night gown that was the equivalent of a shirt that was just a bit too big and baggy. She never wore pants to bed and although she still wore undies there was no bra to go with that.

Her face was beginning to steam by this point.

Hurling herself back into the bed she dragged all the pillows over her body. Grabbing a fist full of her blankets she pulled them up over her head hiding away under the sheets as she shook and trembled in pure embarrassment.

She could hear N chuckling softly and she cursed him ten times more in her head, it was so embarrassing! To make it worse his mood changed to quickly...where had that cute N run off to? This one was to calm, way to mocking and confident...she was going to nick name this N something crude if he kept it up.

She was seething silently under the sheets and she could only imagine just how red and flustered her face must have been, thank god for the blackness of her hiding place.

The bed squeaked softly as it flexed under N's weight, why was he getting on her bed again? She could feel where he placed his hands, the blankets over her body becoming tight as if he was going to use them to pin her down.

"You're so noisy...even in the mornings you're just as energetic as always miss guide." His voice was to close even though it was muffled through blankets. By the way the sheets were pulled tight and the way the bed strained under their combined weight...was he on top of her?

She tried to move slightly only to find that her shoulders met with a solid weight...so he was on top of her. There was a moment of silence before she began to shout again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing! Don't get on my bed and most certainly don't get on me!" Her shouts sounded so childish when they were directed at this confident N, it was frustrating.

"Say miss guide...just what type of expression are you making now I wonder?" He was completely ignoring what she was saying to him! "I only got a glimpse of that embarrassed expression of yours, your face went so red. I'll be annoyed if you hide a face like that from me again." Her face was indeed going red again, these sort of conversations...didn't exist in the real world!

Then again...neither did N. A strange thought crossed her mind...what if the reason why N was saying such embarrassing things was because he wasn't from her world? Could that explain this impossible situation?

"Hey, don't go ignoring me." N's angry tone startled her out of her normal train of thought. "If you ignore me I'll have to get your attention." He shifted slightly above her and the image of him pinning her form down onto the bed crossed her mind. An image she quickly shook away forcibly

"If you ignore me." He stated again. "I'll do something cruel to you..." That dark tone he used on her made her body tense in all sorts of ways...was N being scary?

_See...just like him. He's a monster. Just like him. _

That thought was more startling than N's tone and she was about to vocally question her own strange thought as freezing cold hands suddenly plunged under the bed taking hold of her body. Alice damn near screamed and that wicked unexplained train of thought appeared in her mind again.

_If you're not careful he'll hurt you. Just like him. Hate him._

"I got you now miss guide." What was more unsettling? Those wicked unexplained thoughts or N's current mood, however he surprised her. "You can't get away from me now...so...I'll be punishing you, no screaming now."

All sorts of terrified thoughts crossed her mind and he just so happened to do one of the things she really feared. He began to tickle her.

Immediately she kicked and squirmed, giggles erupting from her as he tickled her sides with freezing cold hands. She could hear him laughing brightly again, much more like the childish N she had seen the night before.

"I said no screaming didn't I? I gotta tickle you more now miss guide." His hands ran along her stomach and around her sides, no matter how hard she tried to stop her laughter, cover her mouth or bite her pillow she just kept giggling and squealing.

Suddenly the pillow above her head was dragged away from her face and her eyes assaulted by the bright light coming into her room. N sat above her smiling happily down at her, his green hair coming as a shock to her senses as it always did. It was just so alien in the real world...

"Ah, that's the expression I wanted." N told her still smiling so brightly. "You look like you're going to cry about now too, you're all red and there are tears at the corners of your eyes. It's a cute expression." He was praising her for looking silly..it was simply too much. Her face exploded.

"Ah! Miss guide you've gone all red! Huh? Sensei?...Seeensei?" N tried to contact her but her mind had simply drifted away to the place all people's minds did when dying of embarrassment.

"Oh no, I've pushed her too far! Miss guide!"

...

Splashing water on her face Alice continued to grumble angrily about what N had done to her that morning, he had spent about five minutes fanning her and trying to bring her back from her embarrassed death and then he spent a good ten minutes laughing at her.

Now that she was angry he sat on the counter while she washed her face and whined at her like an injured puppy. He kept asking her to forgive him and all sorts of cute faces to try and win her over. She didn't know which part of N she was more angry at, the confident one or the puppy dog one.

"What were you even doing in my room this early?" She asked at one point while she got dressed behind the safety of her bathroom door with N on the other side.

"You promised to take me somewhere, I was so excited. I wanted to spend as much time learning about animals as I could. So as soon as I saw the sun coming up I came to wake you up. But..." He trailed off at that point and opened the door slightly to peek in at her.

"You looks so cute while you were sleeping so I ended up just staring at you for a while." Alice had thrown a bottle of conditioner at him when he said that. His endless apologises had started all over again.

"N." She cut across his ne attempt at apologising to her as she dried off her face. "have you got any idea where I might be taking you today?" The sudden change of subject had his attention.

"Are we going to a gym?" He must have spoken without thinking because he made a sound of frustration when he remembered this wasn't his world. "A pokemon...uh...animal park?" He tried again and she just smiled at him.

She would have to take him to a zoo some time...but...she wondered if the zoo might upset him. Cages and all that. It was better to start with something more natural.

"I am taking you to the park first, I am hoping to take you to a spot that is known for the colourful birds that they have around there." Alice told him flicking through some pictures on her iphone. She knew a lot of nice places around here and she wanted to make sure they did see some animals today...it wasn't like hope pokemon just jumped out at you.

Animals were harder to find when you looked for them.

"During this time of year there should be a lot of insects around as well..." She stopped to briefly explain what an insect was to him. "As in a bug type pokemon." She was hoping to narrow most of this down for him until the basics were covered...then she could go into all the different family trees for animals and how they all connected, all their different names and attributes.

She hoped that he would enjoy everything that happened during this. Alice felt happier when she was around him but maybe that was because he had been a character she had known before when she would ignore the real people around her.

N's face seemed to become bright when she explained to him that they would go from the park to the beach so she could show him lots of different types of animals.

"Like those...sharks in your drawings?" He had asked her at one point and she tried not to shudder while at the same time she smiled.

"It's unlikely you'll see a shark...at all. I've never seen a shark in the wild before and I am very grateful for it." That was the discussion they had as she packed her bag for that day, not to many things. Some money in case they wanted to buy some food or N saw something he liked, her phone so her brothers could contact her if they needed any type of help, a camera to capture anything interesting, her drawing book and her diary.

She always kept her diary and sketch book with her. If she went somewhere without them she felt uncertain, like her safety net was gone. With those main things packed she added in one or two other little things that they might have needed that day.

She stopped for a moment with her DS in hand, wondering what had happened to the ending. She had spent a good portion of her night sitting up in bed trying to remember.

No matter how she tried though...she couldn't remember anything past Touko entering the building and facing the seven sages.

Closing her eyes for a moment she held the DS tightly to her chest. She had one other friend that played pokemon games and bragged that he had completed them all 100% every time.

She would ask him about it at school. Surely it couldn't be something as strange as the ending just vanishing because N was here?

N had said it might be because he wasn't there to create the ending but that didn't add up. Even if he hadn't gotten to that part in his world the game would still have been complete...right?

She was trying to make sense of impossible situations, it was hopeless.

Sighing in frustration Alice put the DS into her bag along with the rest of the things she had packed, never sure when she might need it.

Her two younger brothers were at a friend's house today so she wasn't feeling guilty about going out with N that day. It just happened to work out for them but she still wished that her parents had not suddenly vanished again.

"Are they rare? Why don't you want to see one?" He had already started his endless supply of questions, she didn't mind answering them but he would have to give her time to do it.

"They aren't too rare, they aren't common though. We don't see them too much because they live out in the ocean and only come to the beach line occasionally, not to mention people do not want to see them." This caught him off guard and she was prepared to say something scary to him.

"Because sharks are known to eat humans." N's expression completely changed, although it was not out of the question for a pokemon to attack a human to eat them...was something N would only have heard in horror stories.

"Don't dwell on that for now let's focus on something else." She encouraged him. "I'll get to all that sort of stuff later." Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder she began to lead him out of the house...they were going to be doing an awful lot of walking that day.

N asked all sorts of questions as they walked along the quiet bush side road towards the park, most of them having to do with the difference in pokemon and animals. She explained that not many animals had the same evolution pattern as pokemon.

She told him that normally an animal would grow the same as a human would, at different rates of course. She tried to explain that animals like frogs, butterflies, moths and flies had the evolution pattern like pokemon. He was fascinated and he was a fast learner, she wished she knew more to tell him but she was no school teacher.

"Miss guide." He murmured at one point, he liked to call her that and sensei, again she had no problem with it but she would have liked to hear him say her name more. "Do animals have eggs as well?" She all but choked on her own laughter.

He didn't see what was so funny but waited for her to explain, he looked horrified.

"You...You mean some animals don't lay eggs? They have babies like humans!?" Alice nodded with a smile.

"Also some animals lay many, many eggs. Like sea turtles, they lay whole nests of eggs at a time, never just one." It took her another ten minutes to explain what a turtle was to him.

"Most of the animals you've shown me...look very similar to pokemon." He noted at one point while flicking through her sketch book for the tenth time.

"Like I told you before most pokemon are based off one animal or another, even if that's not how it is in your world...that's how we see it here." She didn't want to freak him out to much but it was hard to say the right things.

Alice could see the park coming up and so she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along after her more quickly.

"Up here they have a bird feeding cage. It's really well known because all the birds are use to having humans around and will come really close to you." She explained as they ran, she was almost more excited than N was.

Sure enough they arrived at the park to see a great white cage like thing sitting in the middle of the abandoned playing ground. The children's swings and rides were slowly rusting and the colour had long since seeped out of it from years of over use.

But the white cage was a floorless as ever. That was because people adored it, it was cleaned and fixed up constantly because of the great mass of colourful birds it attracted.

It was still an early morning and so none of the children were up to come and be noisy in the park just yet, making it all theirs for at least an hour or so. Taking a bag of bird feed out of her bag she walked to the middle of the great cage.

N followed closely after her, no words leaving his mouth this time and that's how she knew that he was focusing very hard. In the white cage there were many gaps and bowls, all left for the bird seed.

In the middle of the cage, hanging from the ceiling, was a little bell. This bell was almost like a dinner bell to the birds and after so many years of it being used to alert them to when food had arrived Alice knew not to ring it until they had set the food out.

Instructing N to pour the food into the bowls one by one they filled up the containers until the bag of feed was completely empty and discarded in a bin filled to the brink with old food bags.

"What do we do now...?" N asked uncertainly, as if he was worried that no birds would come down. Alice gave him a knowing smile as she took the little bell in her hand looking at it for a moment.

She saw N open his mouth to say something back quickly pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. Running her hand up the bell to the string it dangled from she waited for a moment before giving two sharp tugs.

The bells high pitched chime rung out loudly around them in the still park. With no children to be shouting and no cars to speak of the bells sharp call was the loudest thing to be heard in that quiet play ground.

The result of her ringing that bell was immediate, a flutter of wing sounded behind them and they both turned to see a rainbow lorikeet landing on one of the bowels. It stared at them with big eyes as if to tell them that it would fly away again if they tried to touch him.

N couldn't be happier with the appearance of just one bird and instead of watching the birds appear one by one Alice watched his face slowly become brighter with each set of new wings that landing on the outside of the cage.

It didn't take long before the entire cage was covered in the happily squawking birds, they all seemed pleased with their first feeding. Alice settled herself down into one of the corners of the cage, sketch book on her legs and pencil in her hand.

She watched as N found the birds that would let him pat them, she would occasionally instruct him on how to feed them and where not to touch them. She had never seen someone so grown up look so happy over some birds.

His look of pure bliss was cute and she caught herself staring at him for too long. Quickly returning to her drawing she looked for any birds she hadn't seen before, most of them were rather familiar to her.

The strangest bird was still N. He was very good with the birds..a natural even. It didn't take long before he had them perched on his shoulders and arms. He looks so happy as they picked at the food he had somehow gotten tangled in his hair.

She decided to draw him instead. He never sat still, what an awful model she had to draw with. Laughing quietly to herself she watched as he laughed and smiled, speaking to the animals like they might suddenly speak back. They tolerated him better than she did, as long as he kept the food coming.

They sat like that for forty minutes without a word passing between them, she just drew him and he just played with the birds. It was nice, it was tranquil and she was a little disappointed when she saw the first of the children arriving at the park.

They shared N's enthusiasm for the birds and rushed over quickly, all crying out in joy when they saw the number of birds that had gathered. Alice liked to think it was N's bright atmosphere that had drawn in the other birds.

Thankfully the children didn't scare off the birds and didn't dim N's spirits either. He welcomed them in and listened to them as they named each birds and naturally forgot them at the same time.

N joined in their game and all of them happily interacted with the birds, the bird again were very tolerant. Alice began to draw the children into her picture, they pulled at N's green hair asking him how he got it. One girl even said it was the most beautiful hair she'd ever seen.

Alice had been more than happy to take pictures of this event without N's notice. He was so wrapped up in the joyful laughter and cries of the children around him that he never noticed her sneaking a picture of his smiling face.

Another half hour passed, the children eventually moving on to the swings and play set, they would continue to come back to see the birds though as if they couldn't bear to be away from them for too long.

Turning to her suddenly N showed her a surreal expression, his grey eyes shining with joy and his smile even brighter. He looked like someone that had never been happier, she'd never seen an expression like that before.

N was so innocent and honest...at least at the moment. Alice had a feeling that she was never going to forget that sudden expression he had showed her.

_Stop being fooled!_  
That unwelcome thought again flared in her mind. She'd always had an active imagination but she was sure she was done making childish voices and friends in her head a long time ago!

_He's a bad person! Hate him!_

Curling her hand into a fist she gritted her teeth together angrily. Why was she being so stupid? She knew it must have been her thinking those things...so why did she make it seem like it was someone else's voice snarling at her.

She had long since given up imaginary friends, because they always left a hollow feeling in her chest. Game characters were always more fun.

So why...why was she thinking this way?

"Miss guide?" N's quiet voice sounded above her, turning to head up to look at him she was startled by his kind smile again. "You looked like you were frustrated for a moment there. Are you feeling okay?"

Alice stared at him speechless for a while, N looked so very kind at that moment. Who was the real N? The childish one or the one that had scared her earlier?

Or...perhaps...those two sides of him had been shaped by Ghetsis...?

The thought of N's 'father' brought a sense of undeniable hatred in her, he was just a character in a game and yet Alice despised him with ever fibber in her being. However if N was real...did that also make Ghetsis real?

_They're evil men, you should kill them._ Ignoring that stupid thought she forced a smile for N.

"Just a head ache. We're out of bird seed right? Should we head on to the beach?" She asked changing the subject quickly, N must not have noticed because he smiled back and nodded.

Standing up he offered his hand to her, pulling her up to her feet also. "Alright then miss guide, lead on. It's the beach now, let's see what you got to show me next." Moving his hand out to his side in a sweeping motion he continued to smile pleasantly.

Heading on ahead of him she tucked her sketch book away into her bag...she would have to protect that picture of him the birds and the children. It was going to be her new most precious drawing...well...maybe second most precious.

...

N.

Watching my guide walk on ahead of me I felt angry.

What was with that expressions he had made just then? It was pathetically see through, was she even trying to mask her emotions at all? That night when she had been upset over her parents she had lied at that time also.

Did she think he wasn't going to notice? Did she think that he was an idiot? The more he thought about it the angrier he became but unlike her he had perfect control over his expressions.

That's why it was easy to get close to people, his father's teachings always paid off no matter how much they had made him cry at the time.

What would his father the great sage be doing in his absence? Would he be looking for his son? Would he forget about him and rule without him, would he still save the pokemon?

N was worried but at the same time he couldn't pass up the opportunity to see this world also, these animals were far to interesting to turn a blind eye to. Not to mention N had no idea just how he was suppose to get home

His guide had promised to help him but when she could do so little with her own expressions...he was uncertain of how much she could actually help him.

Sighing softly he followed after her, to the beach this time was it? That should be interesting, she had looked terrified at the mention of meeting a shark in the wild. Did they really eat humans? What else did they do that he didn't understand?

Another thing that bothered him was the fact she couldn't find his ending, he had told her it was because he hadn't made the ending yet but...he was beginning to doubt that.

He knew he had done more than just beat the champion, he could feel it in his very core but when he tried to grasp the memory it slipped away from him even further into the depths of his mind.

He would slowly unravel this formula, he just had to take his time with it. For now...he could just enjoy all the things this world had to offer him. Those birds and children had lifted his sprits sky high. Perhaps the next destination would have even more interesting things?

Maybe they could get something to eat as well, he was slowly beginning to feel that threatening illness that could only be cured by food. With that in mind he hurried after his female sensei wondering just what new expressions she could show him.

Her formula was only just starting to surface, he wanted to see just what she was.

...

Me: "Again a bit short but hell it was out faster right!?" *Nervous laughter.*

Alice: *Sits in corner sharpening a knife."

Me and N: *Hide behind the lounge.* "Say Alice who is that for exactly?"

Alice: "At first it was for N and his little rapist moment. Then it was for you because your updates are slow and short."

Us: *Gulp.*

Ghetsis: *Is in a shadowy corner being shadowy...* "That's just how it is. He's a freak and I am his father, now come here knife wielding child."

Alice: *Has dropped the knife and fled from the scary man.*

All three: *Hides from Ghetsis because just NO!*

Ghetsis: "Pathetic little rodents, before I forget." *Glares at the viewers with one red eye.* "Review, until next time underlings."

Me: "Oh I _don't _like you." *Gets glared at and runs away again.*


	8. Chapter 8 Beach

Authors Note.

Okay so here are my excuses! BE PREPARED!

I had to finish my school tests and assignments.  
I went to Japan for a few weeks without my computer.  
I was home for 5 days in which I had my birthday.  
I am going away for another week tonight.

THERE good enough excuses for you?  
I did make this a little longer than I intended to originally...you're welcome.

As a result of my neglect this chapter isn't what I wanted it to be and I fear N might be a little out of character.

Tell me what you think.

Chapter 8 Our First Field Trip.(Part 2 Beach.

Alice.

N had started chatting to her again, questions being fired at her from every which way. He was as energetic as always, not all his questions had to do with animals though.

"What sort of beach is it? Will there be any people there? Will there be food there?" Alice realised N must have been hungry, it was getting close to lunch time and he hadn't had any breakfast.

She was use to not eating in the morning but N really wasn't use to it. Feeling guilty for not giving him any food she decided to take him to the local fish and chips shop that sat on the beach side.

"Don't worry we'll go buy some food when we get there." N all but stopped walking when she said that his face again taking on that childish joy.

"Buy food? As in at a shop with customers and...and bells?" It took Alice a while to understand what was so strange about that and she again had to remind herself that as a king and prince he wouldn't have had to go buy his own food. This must be an experience for him.

That thought made her smile and nod again, happy that she could show him all sorts of experiences. The walk took a little bit longer than the walk to the park had, it was about an hour before she could smell the sea salt on the air.

Her throat was dry and her voice was beginning to crack, N wasn't giving her a break at all. His questions kept coming at a thousand miles per hour and he didn't show any signs of slowing.

He was some sort of question asking machine! But all his questions were clever and he never asked anything twice, he was a good listener and provided good feedback. That still didn't help her aching voice.

Alice had never really used many words with people, she was polite and tight lipped, she said please and thank you when she had to, yes and no and would occasionally answer questions. The most she ever spoke was a sentence or two around her brothers, parents and best friend.

Even then she had never spoken as much as she had in her short time with N, it must have been because he seemed so inhuman. It made her happy to be able to speak this much with him.

When they finally got the beach again his reaction had been about as happy as it had been back at the bird cage. When he saw the swell of the ocean his face had broken out into a happy smile. The sun that had just found its way into the middle of the sky beat down hard on her but N seemed unfazed by it.

People walking by would stop to look at his hair and mutter to each other, adults would give him disgusted looks and occasionally pitying looks, some of which came her way. High school students would shamelessly point and occasionally call out to them but N never gave them the time of day.

Kids would look at him with mouths open and expressions of amazement and strangely enough some girls would look at him and giggle to each other, they were undeniably drawn to him smooth spotless face and bright smile.

Alice wasn't jealous but she was still annoyed that they would turn into mindless giggling brats. Not just over N but only any guy they thought was cute, Alice would never accept something so shallow. Of course, she couldn't truthfully say that when she saw a good looking person she kept a completely cool head.

N ran out onto the sand way ahead of her, when he reached the middle way between the water and the pathway he spun around to face her, eyes closed with a big smile on his face.

"Sensei! Sensei! Look at this place it's beautiful!" He shouted back to her, drawing a few gazes but she didn't care that much. He might be childish and just a little silly...but...he was unbelievably happy.

Alice was reminded of a song from one of the pokemon movies when she saw him doing this and she found herself smiling back at him as she followed him out onto the sand. It was warm and there was no wind to speak of, a perfect blue sky day.

N continued to run out towards the water and stopped just where the sad became hardened by past waves, she didn't want him to go into the water with his shoes and socks on so she quickly ran to catch up to him.

When he heard her coming up beside him he turned to smile at her again and before she knew it had had tackled her onto the sandy ground. Laughing happily when he did. "I've never been the beach with someone else before!" She doubted he had ever been to a beach at all with the way he was acting.

"Let's go swimming!" He declared suddenly looking at her excitedly, his eyes that of a five year old that was visiting for the first time.

"Swimming? But you don't have any swimmers or towels or fresh clothes." She told him evenly though she was actually baiting him at that point. His face fell and he looked disappointed, that was when she smiled.

"Don't you worry though I planned for this." She sat up watching as he followed her movements. "I figured you might be hungry or want to swim...so...I brought some money. I'll just get us some towels and food. You can pick out some swimmers for today as well."

When telling him this she enjoyed how his face changed for the better. His smile came back and his excitement remained intact. It was then that his stomach happened to growl again. N's face looked as distraught as last time. Laughing softly Alice got to her feet and pulled him up with her.

"Come on, let's go buy a cure shall we?" She was teasing him but he was good natured about it and just nodded with a small smile. Leading him back off the sand they walked a little more until they came to a small fish and chips shop.

"We'll buy food from here...?" He asked as we walked in, all the people that had gathered there for a swim and lunch all looked at N, some discreet and some without restraint. Alice ignored them and so did N...or he just didn't notice them to begin with.

"Yep, you'll like it I am sure. Ever had fish and chips before?" She asked him as she counted up her money and looked at the menu.

"No...I've had fish before but...not chips." Alice wasn't surprised this time, she had guessed that he was only served fancy foods. There was nothing wrong with that...but...sometimes it was good just to have something like fish and chips.

"That's okay, they're really nice and easy to eat so you'll be fine. Before that though we have to get you some swimmers." The beach store always had swim suits and towels, they had to make money where ever they could and in summer she could imagine that they turned over a great deal of money.

Shifting through the colourful board shorts she noticed N looking at them strange. If he told her he had never been swimming before she was going to lose it...there had to be a limit to how naive he was!

"These...all look really strange." He spoke pulling out some blue shorts with bright green flowers on them and Alice did all she could not to laugh loud enough to draw everyone's eyes to them.

"You shouldn't wear those, they don't suit you at all!" She shook her head taking them from his hands and putting them back on the rack. "Ah! These look better." Alice declared while handing him some white board shorts.

"White?" He sometimes just looked so bewildered over the smallest things. "I don't think that colour suits me at all...find me some black ones." He sounded almost upset as he thrust the board shorts back onto the rack.

Alice wasn't sure what to say and the cue to the ordering desk was getting longer so she made a snap decision. "N you should take the white ones, I don't see any black ones anyway...but if there are any you like, just bring them up to me. I need to get into the line before it gets too long."

She went on to grab some towels, she didn't care what type they got as long as they were towels and would keep them nice and clean. After that she jumped into the line ad waited patiently, as patiently as she could.

N came up to her a few moments later, head down with his eyes hidden from view. With one sharp movement he thrust out the white board shorts towards her without a word.

Smiling she would only nod and take them from his hand...He didn't look very happy but he had indeed accepted her advise and taken the board shorts.  
"Is there something you want me to do now?" He asked roughly, still not looking up at her. He must have been a little grumpy after taking the colour he had so strongly rejected.

Why had he rejected white?

"Well, just find us a seat and I'll get some chips for us." N obediently sat down at the closest seat, not bothering to check and see if it was ideal or not. He wasn't use to doing little things like that, of course Alice just forgave his naivety and continued on to get the chips.

Alice vaguely recognised the boy behind the counter that served her. He must have been a kid from her school. He smiled warmly and said her name in greeting but she had no idea what his name was so in return she just smiled and made her order. It never hurt to just be a little polite and friendly.

People always spoke to her like they were close to her and they always knew her name but she hardly ever knew who that were. Did that mean people were talking about her when she wasn't looking? Alice doubted that they would waste time doing something like that, how petty.

Thinking that people might be talking about her...Alice didn't like the idea that much.

The chips were already cooked and it wouldn't be long before they were done and they could eat. He smiled at her again and had once more said her name, telling her that those chips were some of the best in town, light conversation.

Again being polite was the key, if this continued any longer she might have to recall the boy's name. When she finally realised he was wearing a name tag she had already remembered his name was Jay.

Relaxing she was able to say his name and respond correctly to his words, he was chatty and warm as he put the salt on the chips for her. He seemed like a nice enough boy, he didn't seem to be making fun of her so she was kind in return.

He was a fast worked and it didn't take Jay all that long to have them packaged up and handed to her over the counter accompanied with yet another smile. He was just too warm to someone that had only just remembered his name.

Everything was going smoothly until she bumped into N, who had all but been looming over her from behind without her notice.

Almost spilling the chips she stumbled, able to gain her footing when he calmly caught her by the shoulders.

"N?" She gasped in surprise. "What were you doing back there!?" He gave her one of his strange looks that shouldn't belong on a face like that.

"I wanted to see you purchase something, why didn't you let me do it?" He demanded, for a moment she was just left there staring at him in confusion. "I could have done it." He sounded a little angry and a little sulky...like a child.

Seeing the look of stubbornness take over his face Alice's shoulders dropped. So that's how it was? He just wanted to prove he could do something, even if it was as simple as ordering chips?

"Well how about this N, after we are done here you can buy us something okay?" Offering up a solution she watched as his expression changed to one of joy, nodding lightly he nudged her away from the counter.

Alice only had a brief chance to say a polite goodbye to Jay, he waved them off and if Alice had looked at N's face right at that moment she would have seen a bitter look. N was glaring towards the male that had served them and there was no doubt Alice would have mistaken it for jealousy had she caught sight of it.

"Didn't I tell you to mind the seat...?" Alice muttered angrily when they returned to the chairs and tables. Sure enough in the time it had taken to get the chips the seat N had chosen was gone, along with every other seat in the damn place.

N looked guilty and nervous, again like a child that had made a mistake. "Well I..." He stumbled over his excuse, losing any idea he might have had. Lowering his head he mumbled a meek apology to her.

Sighing heavily she sharply spun away from the gathering of chatty people sitting where they should have sat.

"Never mind that, just come with me. We'll sit on the grass. It's probably nicer than here with all this noise anyway." Leading N away from the shop and around the corner of the life guard station she found that beautiful grassy area that sat just hidden from the play ground.

It was given shade by the towering trees and nice patches of warmth from the cloudless sky. It wasn't anything special but it was nice and calm. Sitting down on the grass she set the box of chips down and waited for N to join her.

He plonked himself right down on the other side of the box and stared off out towards the ocean. It was times like this that he looked like the N she remembered, he was so quiet and lost in his own little world.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, trying to be sneaky. He was just quietly gazing off towards the ocean, his features relaxed into a serious expression. He no longer appeared childish, he just looked...lost.

And he was, wasn't he? Lost in a world that held no pokemon, lost in a world with a plain girl like herself...lost in his own desire to free the pokemon.

"Miss guide." He spoke suddenly, startling her out of her train of thought. As he spoke he picked up one chip and looked at it like he was trying to figure it out before he put in his mouth. He must have liked it because he smiled. "I was wondering...would you tell me a little more about those sharks? The animals in the sea?"

Alice smiled and nodded, pulling her note book out of her bag. "I drew some sketches of them for you and found some of my old ones. I was hoping you'd ask about them actually."

"You like them?" He questioned taking another chip into his mouth.

"I love them. Animals of the ocean are so much stranger and beautiful than the ones I see every day. The dolphins that jump out of the sea to show off their beauty, the sharks that stalk prey through the vast waters and the strange fish that glow where the water is to black and crushing to even see." Alice closed her eyes as she thought of the underwater world, how strange it was.

She might never reach a place like that, a place so beyond her. Of course...N was also something completely beyond her reach and here she was sitting beside him. The possibility she might have snapped and been put in a mental asylum was in her mind as well...but she liked the idea N was here with her better than that thought.

With her eyes closed she imagined the world beneath the crashing waves, scary and mysterious a world that was entirely different to hers.

"You seem to like that place..." She opened her eyes went N spoke, he has that same lost look in his eyes...but perhaps he wasn't lost at all. Staring at him she began to realise just what look that truly was.

It was a wish.

Turning her gaze but to the ocean she smiled softly and nodded. "I want to know more about it, I want to go as far down as I can and see as many animals as I can. I know there are still many creatures that have not be found...I want to find them. To be the first to meet with something like that...no matter how boring, big, small or scary...there's nothing more exciting than that."

"One day...I'll certainly see them all. Even if it sounds impossible for a human to do...I want to find as many animals as I can and not just see them from a TV screen or in the pages of a faded book. I want to find them myself." This happened entirely too often...too often did she get lost in her own fantasy world.

A world that blocked even N from her view. She might be the strange quiet girl in the corner...but when she opened her mouth and words of dreams spilled from her she was no longer quiet and instead quite chatty.

Fearing she might have said something dumb, or bored him, or scared him off, Alice lowered her gaze to the fresh grass blades.

"That's a nice dream." His voice was gentle as she spoke so approvingly. Looking back up at him she saw a gentle, reserved smile...the smile she had expected from the games he had originally been seen. The games she had met him in.

"It's a non-violent dream, one that you can work towards quietly and achieve I am sure." Reaching forward he rest his hand on her head, patting her gently.

'_It's a nice dream Alice. So don't forget okay?' _A voice from long ago said similar words to her, that same gentle expression...but it belonged to another face. Startled by the sudden memory of the past she almost recoiled from his touch...but it was so sweet...so gentle that she could not.

Closing her eyes once more she smiled. This quiet N...the N she spent so little time with, was he really the real one? The one that got angry and passionate...the childish one that almost looked like a puppy...which of them was the real N?

At this point the chips were gone, sitting there in the gentle heat of the sun blocked out by the trees N and Alice spoke about how Sharks were fish and dolphins were not. He made funny faces whenever he was confused or surprised and Alice would laugh at how honest he was, his expression giving everything away in a heartbeat.

It was nice and just for a while Alice was able to forget how impossible it all was. How insane she must have been, how every time she looked at him she was reminded of a world she would never be able to reach.

"You see N a shark is a meat eater. It eats other fish and animals." Alice was explaining it to him gently.

"B-But if that's the case! How can they be swimming around like that!?" N asked in horror looking towards the water. "Aren't they scared?"

"N just because there are sharks and they eat meat doesn't mean they are going to hunt us down. It's rare for a shark to attack a human and although it does happen it's usually a case of mistaken identity." She tried to explain it to him but his blank expression was pathetic.

"As if someone was swimming on a surf board or some sort of floaty they might look like the sharks natural prey. Although they are scary sharks don't really eat humans too often and seeing as they don't have hands to touch with the only way to see what something is to bump it or bite it. So sometimes someone will get bitten and the shark will just go on its way after seeing that the thing it bit isn't as nice as something like fish."

"You're world sounds a little complicated..." N murmured unhappily, wrapping his head around the concept. "It sounds dangerous to me..."

"Let me put it this way, there is more chance of you being killed by a falling coco-nut than a shark attack." He looked even more confused when she said that and she could only laugh at that honest face of his.

It was then that something caught her eye rising out of the water. N saw it to and his honest face showed terror. "Is that...a shark? Truly!?" Alice had to do a double take as well but the gentle curve of that fin told another story.

"Come with me! Get those swimmers on." She ordered him as she ran down towards the water. N was confused and it took him a while to catch up to her, he only just caught up to her when she was at the water's edge.

"What are you doing? If that's a shark you'll be in danger!" He tried to stop her from getting in the water...he didn't have to try. Alice wasn't touching that water.

"You're right...but you're going in!" She pushed him into the oncoming waves before dancing back away from the threat of water. N popped his head back up out of the water coughing as he did.

"What are you doing!?" He shouted again and Alice just smiled shaking her head.

"That's not a shark silly, take a better look at it." N followed her instruction slowly turning his head towards where they had seen the fin..another joined it. A little higher this time, and another fin. Up and down many fins bobbed slowly and N's eyes widened in surprise.

"Dolphins!" N's happy voice shouted above the gentle crash of the waves. Without hesitation N swam out to them, trying to get closer. Even though people were often told not to go bothering the dolphins they had swam into shore very close and N was almost close enough to touch them.

His fear of sharks lost in the happy moment he was having. Sitting on the shore Alice watched him swimming around the dolphins, it wasn't like they just let him go up and pat them. He was allowed close to the good natured water mammals but that was it.

That was enough for him.

The sun was slowly beginning to set behind her back, N's happy nature apparently being enough to lure the dolphins in closer. They would occasionally skim across his outstretched hand. The first time they allowed this he turned to look for Alice on the shore and shout something to her.

He seemed very happy out there. Alice was jealous that she couldn't join him but when she looked at the dark water...the deep water...she was sure it would swallow her. What a useless dream to have when she couldn't even swim. Closing her eyes she rest her forehead against her arms.

She stayed that way, wallowing in self pity. It wasn't until the third drip of ice cold water on the back of her head that she realised someone was standing over her. Snapping her head up to see N's smiling face looking down at her, drenched with salt water she almost screamed.

His long green hair stuck to his lean frame and dripped the cold water onto her face as she looked up at him. "Looks like they got tired." N noted and she peaked past him to see the last of the dolphins vanishing back under the water.

"You didn't come in..." He noted with a frown but she quickly smiled and shook her head.

"Sorry I was just studying how they moved." Lying was effortless...so easy even to someone she admired so much.

"It's hot..." N whined after a while. Sitting back on the ground with a frown. It was getting a little bit hot despite the fact the sun was beginning to set for that day. The ground was warm and the air still retained the warmth of the day.

"It is hot..." Alice agreed holding her hand out like someone might when it began to rain. N looked at the motion strangely but said nothing, sometimes he figured she would just do confusing things. She was strange...as strange as she saw him to be. "But you just went for a swim how are you hot?" N merely shrugged his shoulders.

Alice took a quickened glance at that body of his...it was the first time she had seen someone her age...that naked. She was beginning to turn red...she had to think of something to get him away from her before she gave away how embarrassed she was.

"I got an idea!" Alice pipped up suddenly as if grasped by a great idea. "How about you get us some ice cream?" N looked at her in surprise and she continued to tell him her great plan.

"Before you weren't able to buy anything yourself so you can buy ice-cream right? You're responsible enough." Praising him helped the situation greatly, he was sitting back up with a determined look in his eyes.

Dashing forward he gripped her hands tightly in his own wet ones. He was getting her clothes wet with all that dripping water! "I can do it Miss guide!" Alice wondered if he was ever going to stop with the 'miss guide' and 'sensei'? It was so strange...

"I trust you. Here, you take this to the counter and order-" He rose his hand sharply to silence her and take the money she had offered him.

"I can do this! Leave everything to me!" Turning away that determination went with him. If only he had listened to tell him what flavour she wanted...he was impatient.

Alice watched N walk away from her, clutching the money tightly in his hands. He wanted to be able to buy something on his own, to interact with people and do something normal in this new world.

The thought was so childish and cute that Alice ended up laughing softly to herself. N was so funny, so cute and nice, she was really happy that she was the one that had found him yesterday. If she had not found him...would she still be doing what she did every other day.

The thought wiped the smile clean off her face as she thought about her life, there were things she loved about it for sure. Her little brothers, her dog, her diary, all the animals she could meet. So many things shone brightly in her life but still she felt as though she might just cry if she had not met N that day.

Smiling slightly she looked down at the diary in her lap, waiting for N to come back with their ice cream seemed like the most natural thing in the world, as though it had been that way every day of her life.

In reality it was nothing like that, this was completely different to her normal life, there was nothing remotely normal about this. It was perfect to her and soon enough...it would come to an end would it?

She didn't have time to become sad about that thought, something immediately worse had appeared.

"Hey, Alice." Turning her gaze towards the sound of that familiar voice she felt herself lock up. That familiar voice belonged to something she didn't like at all. Standing there smiling at her so sweetly was a childhood friend of hers.

That should be a good thing, it really should but this childhood friend was one who had gone very rotten. Next to the person she recognised as her childhood friend was the person who was her childhood _bully_.

Standing there was a girl with long blonde hair pulled up into two pig tails, two of her friends and a boy who stood towards the back. None of them ever meant anything good for Alice.

"Never thought you'd be outside! Are you sure you're not going to catch on fire being out here?" That was Camellia , the girl at the front with the blonde hair, she was what you might think of as a typical school bully.

She never liked Alice...and Alice never liked her. Why this had happened was a faded memory and now it was just a bitter relationship. She had her goons on either side of her, they looked ridiculous wearing such fancy clothes and heavy make up to the beach.

Who would wear that to a beach? Looking at them dully she wondered what they intended to do while so dressed up. Her vacant stare must have been confused for some sort of defiance.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Camellia 's shrill voice was like a knife to her ears.

"I'm not ignoring you." Alice spoke gently. "I just don't understand why you're wearing that cake." Making a jab at her makeup Alice couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

Camellia looked lost on that comment, only the boy in the background chuckled, drawing Alice's eyes to him. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and when their gaze met he smirked in the most wicked of ways.

Quickly she looked away again. Although Camellia did not understand her comment she knew it was insulting by the tone in which she spoke it so naturally she got angry.

"Whatever! That's not the reason we came to talk to you." Striding forward Alice could only stare as that perfectly manicured hand reached out to grab her by the front of her shirt roughly. "What were you getting so chatty with Jay for?" Those words were nothing more than a feral snarl coming from Camellia .

"Jay...?" Alice repeated dumbly. "The boy behind the counter?"Camellia seemed to pause considering her innocence, not that it really mattered. Camellia just wanted to beat her up again, there really didn't have to be a reason.

She tightened that grip on Alice's shirt pulling her forward before shoving her back away from her. Falling flat on her back Alice slowly sat back up...not making eye contact with Camellia .

_Just go away..._ She thought dully, wanting this routine bully session to end. Out of habit she reached into her back pack, her hand seeking out the leather bound book that she wrote in. It was a comforting thing.

Soon enough she had the book out and was madly scribbling down notes. "I'm sorry Camellia can we talk later?" Sometimes Camellia would stay a little longer to have a go at her...today was one of those days.

"You're just going to write in that stupid book again? What are you even writing in there. You some sort of stalker or something?" Camellia 's voice was annoying and Alice almost snapped her pencil in half. This girl was so annoying...but...she was a lot stronger than she was.

People liked Camellia , not her. So she should just be quiet and let Camellia do what she wanted...that was just the way it worked. With her staring at the book she wasn't aware of the boy from the back walking up in front of her.

"What _are _you writing in there Ali?" He had bent down low almost low enough to see the pages to the book. To close to Alice's head and to close to her book. This got the first real reaction out of her.

Leaping up off the ground with the book pressed to her chest she took a few good steps back from the boy. He had that same lazy smirk on his face...it never left his face. Running fingers through black hair he sighed like it was all a great inconvenience.

Camellia 's angry words and physical bullying was bearable but when this boy got involved Alice wanted to run away, never be seen again.

"It was just a little question Alice why you getting so upset?" Camellia 's voice was sickly sweet now as well and Alice had to glare at the ground, both hands holding that book tightly to her chest. She wanted to keep it safe no matter what because stupid little comments in those pages were what she considered to be her heart.

"Here let me see it. I'm sure it's cute." He was walking towards her again and she was backing up until a tree was blocking her escape. Seeing she had nowhere else to go he placed his hands on either side of her head and smirked.

"Let me see it Ali." This boy that was so persistent, that had her fleeing was her childhood friend.

"You can't..." She whispered clutching it to her chest more tightly. "I won't let you..."

The two of them stood there in silence, she wanted to be brave. She wanted to shout at him, telling him all sorts of nasty things she thought...but her heart was beating too fast, her legs like jelly, arms trembling and...it was hopeless.

"Oh I get it." Camellia 's friend pipped up with that annoying girly giggle. "It must be about who she likes! Or maybe she's writing mean things about people." Camellia seemed over-joyed at that possibility, no doubt thinking of all the things they could do to her with that information.

"In that case hand over the book right away!" Camellia pushed her old friend aside to demand the book and when she said no again...Camellia resorted to her favourite tactic for getting what she wanted. She punched Alice.

The sound of Camellia 's fist connecting with her face was loud enough. Alice at first only felt her body being suddenly pushed towards the ground and what came next was the pain. It exploded like a white fire in her body, her cheek was surly going to be on fire...but she didn't cry out.

Closing her eyes tightly she pressed herself back up against the tree, the book still in her arms tightly. Camellia checked her delicate hand for damage, Alice imaged the punishment she would receive if even one knuckle on Camellia 's hand had been injured by her face.

This was something she had become accustom to.

"Give me the book Alice..." Her friend spoke again and she felt a familiar pain tug at her chest, how had this person been her old friend? This person that stood by idly while she was hit by another. However she just shook her head.

Camellia shoved her away from the tree and she tumbled to the ground. The gravel bit into her flesh, stinging badly as blood was drawn to the surface. Still she did not cry out, she could not. She just had to endure this.

"I won't..." The book meant everything to her. She could already see the next punch forming and she just closed her eyes again waiting for it to end...they would always get bored and leave in the end.

"Alice!" A familiar voice shouted to her from far away. Opening her eyes slightly she saw N standing there holding two ice creams. One white and the other brown.

His expression was scary.

At first he looked shocked, mortified at what he was seeing and then it was a look of pure rage on his honest face.

"What are you people doing with my guide?" That tone was startlingly dark. Camellia didn't seem to know what to make of the boy with green hair, it was a little startling to see something so different no matter how much of a bully you were.

Dropping the ice cream on the ground he rushed forward snatching Camellia 's wrist up into the air. He was so much taller than her and easily had her struggling to touch the ground on her tippy toes.

Screaming like a riled cat as he held her in such an awkward position. His angry expression was not softening, there was no forgiveness in that gaze. Slowly that same gaze turned on Alice and still it did not soften in the slightest.

He studied her face and she was quick to hide the bright red mark she was sure had formed on her cheek. N tightened his grip on Camellia 's hand, her goons standing around helpless to stop the man that had caught her bullying.

Even Alice's childhood friend was not moving but he didn't seem that worried about Camellia 's safety. Bullies were not often known for being the best friends after all.

"Let go of me! Let go!" She was shouting, clawing at N's vice like hand but still he did not move.

"When I let go." His voice was a hushed whisper, the voice a murder might use…or an angry kind. "You are going to get out of my sight within ten seconds and if you ever return to my line of sight I'll have to remind you of just how displeasing that is."

Alice saw his knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip yet again. He was going to break her hand! Camellia 's face twisted in agony and she let out a wordless yelp, Alice could take it no longer, that cruel expression didn't suit his face at all!

"Stop! N that's enough!" Pushing herself up off of the ground she wrapped her arms tightly around N from behind hoping to distract him or at least be ready to pull him away by force.

Slowly his grip lessened until he was able to release Camellia who stumbled back clutching her injured hand to her chest. The look in that angry face…pain and fear for sure. No curses were made, no usual threats or even a glare….Camellia just ran away as fast as her skinny legs could carry her. Those useless goons after her in a heartbeat.

Her childhood friend lingered a little longer, looking at her with a strange expression. That black hair of his almost blocking his eyes from view. N was staring at him with such a cold expression as if waiting for him to also vanish.

"You need to vanish too." He snarled finally when he had not moved. Smirking slightly he nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Got it weirdo. Ali…that's an interesting project you have there." When he addressed her Alice slipped behind N a little more, she didn't like it when he spoke to her. She was reminded of how nice he had once been.

"Heh…should have guessed." He murmured and walked away from them both. Alice didn't know what she had done to make her old friend hate her so very much.

When he finally turned out of sight it was just the two of them, she expected N would turn back to normal, she had hoped that he would.

That N was nowhere to be seen though.

"What do you think you were doing? You…just _stood _there." His voice didn't hold the same cold edge it had when directed at Camellia …but he was still obviously furious with her behaviour.

"I just…" She wasn't even offered the opportunity to defend herself properly. Turning around suddenly N had her trapped up against the same tree once more, eyes alit with frustration.

"You just them do whatever they pleased! Where did that passion from before go?!" He all but shouted at her. "When we were talking you'd show such a serious amount of passion but just now you hardly opened your mouth once!"

His hands grabbed her shoulders in a bone crushing hold, shaking her slightly as he did. "Why would you just let that happen to you!" His eyes were trained on her cheek…no doubt looking at where she had been hit.

She couldn't let him see how much it hurt. Staring at him blankly she tried not to let it show how much pain she was in, her cheek throbbed and her heart ached.

"You…." N's voice was filled to the brim with frustration. "You lie!" If he had not been holding her she would have backed away from that angry voice.

"You continue to lie to me every step of the way. You're not good at hiding how you feel, your face is to honest. So don't try to hide it from me." He was truly angry at her for this.

"Never let anyone hurt you like that again. Love yourself a little bit more!" Alice could feel tears threatening to form at the corners of her eyes. N saw it to and although his face did not completely soften his grip lightened up slightly.

"Don't look..." Alice whispered hastily trying to hide her tears but his hand caught her wrist stopping her from doing so.

"You're much cuter when you're being honest." N praised her with a gentle voice catching her attention yet again. "I am sorry that I was not here. I am sorry that you are crying."

His eyes no longer held that cruel glint to them. The hands that had squeezed her shoulders released her only to have her arms embrace her entire body. N was warm and much larger than her, for the sake of comforting her he had all but wrapped himself around her.

"Never show that face to anyone else." He whispered to her softly. "That crying face of yours." Alice's resolve broke down and more tears were shed for what seemed like the first time in decades. She could feel N's grip tightening in a comforting manner around her trembling body.

"And don't you ever lose your passion again." He was scolding her like someone would scold a child with a loving tone. It was a fabricated lie though...Alice did not dare put any faith in the idea that he was doing this for any other reason than kindness and to keep his guide healthy.

Still...the warm feeling in her chest wasn't ebbing away any time soon. Slowly he released her and looked towards the discarded ice cream and made her laugh.

"I should have been more careful! In the end...I wasn't able to do the simple task you set me." Sighing he shook his head and began to walk away from her. "It's getting dark...lets head back for today." N was being mature for her sake...because in her current state of mind there was no way she could make reasonable choices on her own.

People like N simply were impossible. People that paid close attention to her face and feelings...people like that never really existed.

Perhaps...N was the best thing that ever happened to her?

That thought made her smile slightly, watching his retreating from quietly her arms tightened around her diary. N was making her life more interesting...he was making her happier. She'd never been more unorganised, more uncertain...and yet she had never been happier.

N turned around very suddenly to face her and he showed her a kind smile. "What are you standing there for Miss guide? Don't leave your student on his own." Smiling to herself and would cast a secret look at the ground.

Her heart was warm...her entire outlook on her life had changed from a brief encounter with something impossible. Taking one small step she wondered if she was setting them both up to fall...and then she ran after him.

N was going to be her world for a while...hopefully she wouldn't have to cry in the loneliness of the dark away from the rest of the world anymore.

And she remembered...pausing for a moment it almost seemed like a lost memory to her. She remembered what happened, what White was to do.

"Ahh I've remembered. Touko has to fight her way to the top of the castle." She remembered the words she had spoke to encourage herself to continue to the game as well, the exact words she had spoken to the game.

_We can do this Touko! Let's go find N, we'll get through to him!_

...

The world that had been so black for White for what seemed like forever there was suddenly light. Opening her eyes slightly white found herself standing in the same hall as before.

Pokeball in hand she stared at the scene before, the sages unmoving were frozen in place, the entire world was.

The world of so many bright colours reduced to black and white. How long had she been stuck this way? She was the only one that seemed to be awake in this black and white world.

Turning her gaze towards the ceiling where she knew she had to go to find N she wondered just briefly what was happening.

The reason it was black and white...

The reason they had not progressed in the story...

The reason she questioned her every move...

Wasn't it because this story was already set in stone?

Closing her eyes she watched as the world came back to life again, colour returning to the scene, the sages ready to stop her and her not ready to back down.

Preparing to fight her way through the grunts to the place she needed to be Touko felt something like a memory prick in the back of her mind.

A memory in the form of a voice.

'_Ahh...I've remembered. Touko has to fight her way to the top of the castle. We can do it Touko! Let's go and find N. We can get through to him!'_

The voice that guided her through her entire journey...from start and now to end, was it her voice?

...

Me: "So I am finally connecting Alice and Touko a bit. Is it obvious what roles they play?"

Touko: "..." *Still a silent protagonist."

Alice: "I am the player right?"

Me: *Nods.* "To sum it up Touko can hear what you say to her as the player."

Alice: "That's great and all...but what took you so long!?"

Me: "Shut up! That's almost 8000 words in one night! Give me a break! I'll try and update a little later!"


	9. Chapter 9 Nightmares

_Author's Notes._

_Okay this is an N chapter...it's all basically N!  
I've twisted him slightly from what he usually is and personally I rather like the twisted N, makes for fun times later!  
Also there is very brief mentions of Ghetsis around N so that's sad as usual._

_Review! __**LEAVE REVIEWS**__, Bad, good, in between, I don't care! I just get a lot more writing done with reviews! __**Faster updates**__! Okay enjoy._

Chapter 9 Entrapped Here In Nightmares.

N

The moon had come to visit N twice more since their trip to the beach and bird cage. Alice had told him she couldn't take him out again just yet, she had to attend to her younger siblings.

So N had sat in his attic top room, blankets and toys strewn around the room carelessly, as if desiring Alice to return and scold him for being untidy. He spent his time reading the books she would bring for him with every meal.

The books were all about animals of course, occasionally a book on history or society...she must have wanted him to fit in a little better...but with his hair that was never going to happen.

That seemed to be bothering her more and more every time she came to see him. The last time she came to see him she had even thought of ways to hide it...he didn't like any of those ideas. But he could forgive her attempts at hiding his hair because with every strange suggestion she had better food to go with it.

Her cooking was heavenly.

Every time she brought him something new, as if she was working just to bring him some entertainment from new tastes. She worked very hard...just for him. It was wrong of him to indulge in that idea so much but every time he saw the way she smiled after seeing she had pleased him...he couldn't help but feel his spirits lift.

She had an honest face. It was a face like hers that would get her used by a despicable man, N might just be that sort of man.  
He allowed his mouth to twitch up into a bitter smile at that thought. It was easy to fool good natured people, his father had taught him that and his guide thought that his own face were honest...but...in truth it was nothing like that.

It did sometimes occur to him he was showing too much happiness with the things she showed him...but...it made her seem at ease. Thinking back to the morning he had crept into her room to wake her, he became uncertain. She had hidden herself away from him...why had that upset him so much?

He felt some sort of sick black rage coiling up in his chest when she hid her face from his sight. When he had spoken to her so darkly he had heard someone else in his voice...to N he had heard his very own father creeping into his words.

Shaking away that thought he glanced out the window in his room, with a hot cup of chocolate in his hand. Alice had come earlier to bring him more books and food, this time with a cup of hot chocolate she had made. It was too sweet, her first mistake with the food. But he found that the sickly sweet flavour comforted him, so he had decided to drink it all, the warmth easily heating him to his core.

On this afternoon when he looked out the window he spotted his honest faced guide. She was in the front yard with her two little brothers, he couldn't help but notice how much happier she seemed with them. She never seemed to be sad or angry when by his side...but she didn't seem comfortable either. This was bothering him more than it should have, everything with his guide was bothering him more than it should have.

N placed his hand against the glass, watching at the heat from his palm moved around the outlines of his fingers against the cold glass.

Alice was smiling brightly while talking to her brothers, rounding them up to go inside for the afternoon no doubt. The one with the blonde hair hardly said a word but occasionally he would glance up towards N's current residence.

One of these glances went straight to his window and into _him_, the little boy was staring at him with unblinking eyes. Such cold eyes...N hadn't been shown a stare like that since his last talk with his father before the big battle with the champion.

...(Memory)

"_N. This is the most important step, do not fail us now." Ghetsis stood before the future ruler. _

_Despite being king of plasma there was never no question when it came to his father...what his father said went._

"_Do not fail _me._" He repeated himself sharply and N nodded silently in reply._

"_I will not fail." It was a moment of weakness in his mind and his tongue acted without permission. "After I succeed will you praise me?"_

_The icy silence that followed had frozen N to his core. Neither father nor son moved an inch for a stretch of time, N's grey gaze staring vacantly at his bitter sire._

_Ghetsis had walked up to him slowly, placed one icy pale hand against his cheek. That hand travelled down to the tip of his chin and then delicately left his face._

_N had not moved an inch._

"_You still are not worthy of my praise. Do not fail." With those parting words Ghetsis had left his loveless son just as empty as before. N had not said a word, had not thought a thing and instead just walked in the opposite direction. To the child without love...his father's praise was constantly out of reach and so he would keep trying to grasp it as he would constantly reach for his goal to protect the pokemon._

_Meanwhile the coldness would tear at an already shattering heart..._

...

N's palm left the window as he flinched back sharply, those light eyes still fixing him with a startling cold stare. How could a child have the same stare as his father? He immediately took a disliking to the young male that stared towards him.

The other boy with the darker hair noticed his little brothers stare and said something to him, yet still he wouldn't look away. After a while longer the boy smiled and turned away and immediately turned a smiling face to his oblivious big sister...as if he intended to rub N's face in that act. N bristled angrily but he couldn't place why he felt such anger towards such a small person.

A cold stare was one thing but to loath a child for it was just too cold even for the hero of Unova.

The boy with the blonde hair then ran to Alice and hugged her legs tightly, his smile bright and innocent...that smile and those actions were painfully similar to his own when he spent time with his sensei. The boy was using a mask much like N had been taught to do and very often did.

And his guide fell for it just as she fell for his.

Slamming his fist into the wall by his side he glared towards the happy family of three. He really truly loathed the child. His name was Vincent and N had learned just from observing he was the smaller of two twins, they looked like they were not even in their teen years yet and that young boy was just too clever. N wanted to throttle him for deceiving his guide with that fake childish innocence, N was a hypocrite.

After a while the dog came to join them, it was easily bigger than the two young males and almost lager than his tiny guide. The dog was affectionate and played with them just as another sibling might. He watched the interaction quietly, making his choice on just what relationship they had. The dog was not restrained in any way...and...it seemed it could leave their side at any time but it never strayed far from them.

N thought back to Alice's angry outbursts, how she described her love for animals and pokemon...he would put his faith into her. Faith that her words were not empty lies to tempt him. Alice was a terribly see through person. She tried to hide the way she felt and the things she did but she couldn't even fool her kid brothers, let alone him.

He noticed the way she would stare at him, the way she would get lost in thought after looking at his face for too long. Alice treated him like he was something alien, to her perhaps he was just that. An alien. Something to be studied and used. He would not be angry at her if that was how she saw it, he was using her too. She was to be his guide in this place just because he smiled at her and spent time with her did not make them close...it didn't make them close at all.

That thought had him squeezing the rapidly cooling cup in his hands, putting it under a great strain. He had to relax before he broke it. His emotions seemed to be out of control without the firm hand of his father over his head, it was worrying. Finally his sensei had ushered the family back indoors but not before the little brat cast him one last patronizing look, as if he wished to have N hate him as much as he seemed to dislike N.

He had succeed, N despised a simple child.

Alice paused at the door looking up to his window but unlike her sharp brother she had no idea he was watching her. One of them must have called to her because she hurriedly turned away shouting something back to them as she left his sight.

N did not move even as the sun vanished past the trees and the moon began to rise up to give light to them all. He sat at the window with his cup in hand, the hot chocolate now cold in his hands and still far too sweet. He stared out into the unfamiliar black sky, he didn't recognise any of the stars in this strange land...he missed the pokemon.

Animals were interesting and he was becoming incredibly fond of them...but what about the pokemon back home? They would still be enslaved...still he was failing them just by being here. But how had he gotten here in the first place? Fearing he'd never know and never get home his heart dropped.

_I have to remember!_ He thought furiously to himself, he couldn't remember though. Closing his eyes he tried to remember further back but the more he looked the fuzzier it got. He remembered standing and waiting for the other hero to present herself...he remembered the excitement and the joy of knowing he had won.

Most of all he could remember how happy he was that Touko was coming to see him, even if it was to fight...he was just happy to see her.

N had been pacing back and forth at that time, thinking of just how he was going to ask her. Ask her to be his first friend. N had never once had a friend and up until then he never realised how much he desired one. He could see others forming friendships when he was all alone, well he was never actually alone. The pokemon would be kind to him, protect and play with him but...even with that he wanted more.

He knew it was selfish but he wanted a human companion, with the affection shown from the pokemon and the cool kindness from the grunts and sages it should have been enough...but it never was. N longed for another human to accept him and he wanted that other human to be Touko.

He had planned of defeating her in a battle and in exchange asking for her friendship...had they fought? Had he won or lost? What had become of his desire to have a friend? Perhaps it ruined his chance at saving the pokemon...had he been that greedy? All N could do was speculate what might have happened...he could not remember in the slightest. He was sure when he arrived he had been able to remember more than that though...was his memory decaying?

Frustration took its toll on him and he could no longer sit at the window. He lay down in his bed of a thousand blankets and pillow, Alice never seemed to lack more gifts for him and he began to wonder if there were any pillows or blankets in her room anymore. As king he should be use to this sort of attention but he could not forget the way she would smile when offering everything to him...and then that anger and passion she showed when defying him and withholding everything from him.

That brought on unwelcome thoughts of what happened two days earlier. He remembered scowling at the boy behind the counter that had gotten so close to her. His guide was thick and naive, she had no idea the boy was trying to charm her. She wasn't at all feminie, it was a little depressing to see at times.

N had not liked seeing the boy try to charm his guide, to distract her from her job of teaching him. After that he remembered how she had sat on the shore and just watched him swim with the amazing jumping sea creatures. When he had turned to wave to her again and seen her with her head in her arms he had abandoned the water and the dolphins.

He had stood there and watched her all but sob into her arms for a while until the dripping water had her attention. She had tried to deceive him...say it was all fine but he knew better...it was likely Alice couldn't swim at all to begin with. N hadn't know what to do with her, what was one to do when a girl acted that way? He had no experience with that sort of formula...it was a strange experience.

After that when he had so proudly returned to brighten her smile again with the ice cream and seen her be struck by another female his emotions had boiled down to that all too familiar black rage. But why? Why had she just stood there...said nothing, did nothing...nothing at all. The passion she showed when arguing with him or admiring pokemon and animals...gone.

She had seemed so passive, unresponsive at that time even when they tried to touch that book of hers. She put up only the slightest of fights and he knew how much emotion she poured into that book...N simply could not stand by and watch this happen to his new sensei.

Lashing out at the other female he had wanted to hurt her, wanted to see her bones break under his iron grip. He had been so willing to do so as well, to dislocate that hand that had been used to injure his guides face.

But...at that time...

...

"_Stop! N that's enough!" _

_Alice? N felt a warmth clinging to his back and he knew those little arms belonged to his sensei...she held onto him so tightly her own arms might fail her. He looked over his shoulder towards the little girl with that familiar black hair._

_Her big eyes only just looked up at him for a second and that was all he needed to see something strange in those big pools. In her wide eyes he saw his father, cold face full of cruelty. But that was N's own face that was reflected in those terrified eyes._

_Startled N felt regret like a knife in his chest, the one twisting it was the thoughts of his own father's cruelty. Now Alice had seen that in him as well...that part of him that should have never existed._

_..._

Realising his mistake he had released the girl with a warning...he had not wanted to scare Alice and in that moment he felt nothing but grief and regret. Those feelings that almost smothered the anger and fear he had felt only moments before. He was still so angry with her and without permission angry words had forced themselves from his mind and into the air around them. He scolded Alice, he shouted and raged at her...and she had cried.

Seeing tears on that pale face his anger drained away slowly leaving a strange empty feeling inside. Had he wronged her? At that thought he embraced her and comforted her, hoping to chase those tears away. Besides the feelings of regret was another strange one he had not felt in a long time.

_Possession._

If another man or woman was to see that crying face of hers he would become furious, that rare honest face should belong to him. Without even knowing it this guide of his had become another desired friend. He wanted to be her friend and he never wanted anyone else to see the various expression she held...this feeling that was so similar to the one he experienced when waiting for Touko had filled him and it had terrified him.

Closing his eyes exhaustion began to take effect in him. His eyes were becoming too heavy to keep open and he allowed the darkness to take him. The darkness that came with confusion, doubt and loneliness was all too familiar to the green haired boy.

...

"_N.." Opening his eyes at the sound of his name being shouted he found himself in a strange dark world, one he was not familiar with._

"_N." There it was again, his name being called in a familiar tongue. Running towards the voice that beckoned him he felt desperation grasp at his chest._

_Why was this so terrifying? What was happening that was so wrong?_

_N, please..." That voice again. Turning around he sought out that voice that had imbedded itself in his mind and soul._

_Finally he found her. Standing as the only glowing white light in this land of darkness...was White._

"_Touko..." He moved his mouth to form her name but no sound left his throat. She looked at him sadly for a moment before turning away and fleeing into the darkness._

_He followed her, running to keep up. His green hair flowing behind him, hat lost in the desperate run for her. She didn't slow down until she reached the end of the dark corridor, turning to face him her expression was so sad and then...she reached out for him._

"_Touko!" He screamed her name this time but the fear that had crept up his spin was finally explained. White screamed. And the space between them was filled with a great white wing, one he also was able to recognise._

"_N!" Touko screamed his name this time. He just saw White reaching for him again before she vanished into the darkness, a dark rumbling laugh echoing with her scream._

_He kept running after her, stumbling and falling in the dark. He wanted to find her, he wanted to be her friend...he didn't want her to leave him in the blackness._

_He needed White._

_Again he screamed for her, arm stretching out into the darkness only to grasp at nothing but the black._

...

And screaming his awoke. His hand still outstretched towards the sky he lay in a familiar bed panting heavily, sweat running down his forehead from the vicious nightmare.

"N..." Touko's voice was gentle when it came to him this time and without hesitating he sat up and embraced the sound of her voice...and sobbed. Clinging tightly to her he wept, the nightmare was so awful...so awful. But White was right here under his arms...surely she was right there.

Alice said nothing as N clung to her, he was whispering 'Touko' over and over again, the nightmare he had must have shaken him to his core because when she came to check on him his screaming had rung through the entire house. She had found him thrashing violently in his bed, none of her pleas for him to wake up reaching him until eventually she could only sit back and hope he would be okay.

She said nothing...because right then N had never looked more vulnerable so for as long as she could...Alice would be his Touko.

N had no idea who he was really holding under him...at least not for ten minutes of his frantic panting. Ever so slowly did he come to realise he was not in his world...the girl in his arms not Touko but Alice.

He was not disappointed...but...he was not happy either. Alice and Touko looked so similar that he should not have felt guilt for mistaking one for the other but he knew it was guilt that crushed him at that point. To cling to Alice and call another name...seemed so lowly, so disgustingly cruel of him...yet she did not complain. She did not move from his grasp or ruin his illusion...she just let him believe it was Touko until his sobbing had stopped.

N felt guilty because Alice was thinking only of him in those moments and behind that guilty feeling was that same wicked idea of possession, of having her mind only on him. Suddenly there was a warm palm on his cheek and when he looked at Alice she was smiling at him.

"N..." He murmured his name and slowly lent in to embrace him. "You had such a bad dream. So I'll chase those bad dreams away." Her promise was comforting...and strange. N had always had nightmares, never had he been able to crawl into a father and mothers bed for comfort. In the dead of night if he screamed and cry...he would be alone and yet here she was sitting with him to 'chase the nightmares away.'

And he felt happy.

A soft melody filled the air and when he looked up he saw it was her singing. She looked at him sheepishly, cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.

"Don't stop." He whispered gently cupping her cheek with his large hand. "You promised to chase my nightmares away...so keep singing." He could see the way her face formed that familiar face of confusion and embarrassment, like the things he said were so unnatural it shook her to her core.

It was selfish of him to indulge in her kindness after calling her by another name but N was a greedy man and so he accepted it. Alice sat by his side until he fell asleep that night, a wordless melody falling from her lips to hang in the air and provide him with comfort. This was the first time N had ever been protected from the terrors of the night and by his guide no less. That song sounded very sad...but it was coming from that gentle voice...so it made his happy.

She sang until he had drifted back into sleep and even after that...just to make sure he would not succumb to nightmares once more. When she was sure he was safe from the fearful dreams she pressed her head against his one, green hair mixing with black on the pillow.

"I'm so greedy..." She whispered not knowing he was awake. "I am pretending to be her...just to see you smile. I'm sorry. In return I'll return him to you for sure...but...just for a little while I'll continue to be greedy. Forgive me White." Lifting her head away from his she left the attic leaving behind a single book she had brought with her.

N lay awake in the bed thinking about what just happened between them. It was strange and new...N was not sure he what he thought of it...but that lingering warmth in his chest was easily better than the warmth of the hot chocolate.

"Heh. We're both greedy...aren't we Alice?" He mused before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

...

Me: "Well that took longer than expected but seeing as I was without internet for a week it's not too bad." *Nod, nod.* "Thank you for the great reviews too. ^^"

Alice: "Why is this all with N?"

Me: "Because people love N deary." *Pats her on the head.*

Alice: "What happened between White and N? What did you _do!?"_

Me: "Nothing, nothing, it's like you have no faith in me!"

Alice: "We _don't_."

White: "..." *Silent protagonist agrees.*

Me: "Well then! Huff I say! HUFF! Storms off to write bad things about Alice and White.* "Please review, lord knows I write faster with reviews!"


	10. Chapter 10 School? What's that?

_Author's Note.__  
I got a bit of feedback from the last chapter so I updated longer and faster! ^^ Happy?  
Now I got a question. Do we want more fluff or lime/lemons? I have NO idea how I'd organise a lemon but it can be done if someone asks for it!  
Tell me what you want and I'll do what I can! So leave REVIEWS! :D :D :D Pretty please?  
(Also that black and white contrast was intentional. ^^ Thanks for noticing!)_

Chapter 10  
School? What is that?

Waking up to someone looming over your bed was…hilarious to put it kindly.

And that was just what N woke up to that morning. When his tired eyes finally pulled away from grey hues, he was met with a mess of black hair and a pair of excited blue eyes.

N blinked a few times looking up at his guide...she must have wanted to repay the favour of appearing in his room and so...he thanked her also.

Lifting his arms sharply he pulled her down into his bed, listening to her yelp as she collapsed into him and the sheets. He laughed at her desperate struggles to get back up and ignored her muffled shouts to let go.

"Good morning Sensei!" He laughed brightly looking at her flustered face, pleased with the results of his efforts. She sharply pulled herself up out of his bed, dusting herself off angrily as she did.

She always pouted so cutely when she was embarrassed and angry, N took great pleasure in getting that expression from her.

"Hmpf! Get up and get dressed!" She told him angrily, zipping around the room like a hyper active humming bird. She was just too funny sometimes.

"You are taking me somewhere miss guide?" He asked lazily as he pulled his shirt over his head, glancing back at her to see a look of pure evil shining in those eyes.

Making him freeze up in terror...what type of evil smirk was that on his sweet guides face? What happened to the singing girl last night!?

"Hell." She replied deadly serious and he was left alone in the attic as she zipped right out of his home...leaving him to try and put together just what she was talking about...he had no idea.

...

Alice.

She was flustered, embarrassed. She had intended to pay him back for waking her up so awfully before...but she had just been pulled into his bed. It was a complete failure on her part.

Still seething from that failure she stalked back into the house. Throwing the fridge open she prepared lunch for them.

Today was to be a big day. She had mulled the idea over in her head for the past few days and she saw no other way. She had to take N to school.

That thought made her sigh, it would be difficult but she knew it would be worse to leave him on his own. She might come home and he might be gone off hunting animals, or getting hurt or just gone.

She couldn't risk it so...she decided to take him with her. This was going to be an ordeal.

"Sister..." Vincent's quiet voice reached Alice when she came back into the house. The young boy, still wearing his bed clothes, walked into the kitchen rubbing his bright eyes gently as he did.

"What are you doing...?" He sounded so tired and innocent Alice's face naturally broke into a happy smile.

"I'm just making your lunches for today." Telling Vince that cheerily she continued her preparation. The little blonde haired boy that was her beloved little brother watched as she prepared lunches for him and Elliot.

"You never make food this early...what's happening?" Vincent was surprisingly bright for a boy his age and although he wasn't good at sports like his brother, nor as sociable as him, he was no doubt going to make a brilliant young man in her mind.

"I am taking N to school today." Alice told him gently, if she had been looking at her brother she would have seen the cold expression that unnaturally came onto the young child's face.

"You mean the strange man?" He asked quietly and Alice nodded brightly, unaware of her little brothers own burning hatred.

"I don't like him." Pausing she looked at Vincent who seemed to be pouting. Sighing gently she put down the bread and walked over to her brother to pat him on the head gently.

"Now what makes you say that?" She didn't want Vincent to dislike N, she didn't want Vincent to dislike anyone. He was too sweet for that sort of thinking. Again Alice was completely oblivious to her little brothers thinking. She could simply see no evil of any shape or form in such a young boy.

"He is strange...I don't like him at all. When I look at him it's like looking at water..." Vincent murmured, the strangeness in his choice of words startled Alice...her little brother shouldn't be talking so seriously. He was just a child.

"It's like...I'm looking at an empty shell. There's nothing inside of him, like his real self isn't there are all...He's just a rotting carca- ah!" Suddenly a firm fist came down on her brother's head and Alice looked up to see N standing there with a bright smile.

"Morning Sensei...you left without explaining everything to me." He complained and Alice laughed rubbing the back of her head. N seemed to be oblivious to what her brother was saying, he pat him on the head almost affectionately.

That was a relief, maybe he could change the way Vincent saw him. Alice was hopeful.

"Oh I'm sorry...just wait in the living room for me please. I'll be done soon." She promised and darted back into the kitchen leaving Vincent and N together. Surely they would get along, N would just have to get through to her little brother.

...

N

N was seething.

The little brat had been talking about him to his guide so shamelessly, he wished he could have hit him harder but with Alice in the room that was impossible. Vincent turned to look at him with that same cold gaze.

A gaze that shouldn't belong to a child. It was too clever and too bitter. He was a brat no doubt about it...but a troublesome brat none the less.

"Hey now let's try to get along." N said, his voice very cold as he pressed down harder on the brats head...oh he _hated _him. N had never thought he'd be low enough to wish pain on a child, but this little boy was just begging for it.

"How about you leave and never come back? Maybe you could go and die?" Vincent asked with a childish laugh that was all too innocent.

"And if you don't well..." He glared at him again showing his true feelings on his dishonest face. "I'll make Alice hate you for sure."

That seemed like a real challenge to N, this little kid really wanted to mess with him! N wanted to hit the boy but Alice would be mortified...that's what the brat wanted so he calmly removed his hand from the young boys head.

He just caught the flash of anger on Vincent's face when his plan fell flat on its face. N and Vincent glared at each other in an icy silence until Alice came back then they both brightened and she, as always, was completely clueless!

"Alright N come with me and I'll explain what's happening. Vincent please go wake Elliot up or you'll be late." She nudged her brother off towards the stairs. He nodded obediently and ran up to get his larger twin brother, only pausing to snarl at N silently.

However again Alice would miss it, N only just caught the hate filled expression on the boy's face and he glared right back at him. Wondering briefly how many people that little brat had tried to remove from his sister's side.

N wasn't the only possessive one.

"It's so nice to have such well behaved siblings." Alice sighed pleasantly and N almost sighed in frustration...being naive was one thing and being innocent was cute...but Alice was going to get hurt being that pathetically clueless.

"So what are we doing?" He changed the subject quickly and Alice immediately got back on topic, nodding seriously.

"I've decided to enrol you into my high school today." N stared blankly at her and she sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose, realising she'd have to explain a little more than that.

"Well...you know trainer school? People drop in for a while then go train?" N nodded, not liking the mention of trainers but he kept his peace for her sake. "It's a little bit like that but I've been going since I was five years old." N looked shocked.

"That long?" She nodded seriously.

"I got to go 5 days a week for about 8 hours every day until I turn 18 and then there is another school called University or College or TAFE that you can go to for about another 5 years." N looked beyond confused and she tried not to laugh.

"Why...would you go that long? Don't you want to go travel?" Alice sighed again, there was a lot of sighing going on that day.

"I don't get a choice it's compulsory for most people now days." N was making such a strange face at her and she didn't blame him, there was nothing like that in pokemon...it might have sounded like torture to him. She hoped it did because for the most part, it was.

"Well I got to attend and I don't want to leave you here on your own so you can come with me. It will also teach you more about animals and this world." Sticking her finger in the air Alice continued to school him.

"You will need to do a few things though. For the sake of this event, you are my cousin who is staying with us for a year or two. Your name is Nate Orish Mau and you are seventeen years old." N said nothing, listening intently.

"You will enrol for as long as you are here and will be in my classes as you were home schooled until now and need guidance. My parents helped fund that school so it shouldn't be hard to make that happen. Now here is the real hurdle." She leant forward with a serious expression.

"Your hair." N's face twisted in distaste...he didn't want to do anything to his hair and she knew that.

Slumping her shoulders she knew she couldn't ask him to cut it or change its colour. "Okay N I won't make you change it. You need to realise that if someone asks you if that's your real hair you lie and say no. Say you had it dyed that way and you like it just the way it is." N nodded slightly, knowing it was the best option he would be given.

"Now another matter I don't think you'll like. For the sake of this cover story you have no idea what a pokemon is. You despise childish games and have never played one." N's face gave away the grief he felt.

"I know it's not ideal but you...you look to much like N and a few of my friends have played the pokemon games...if you act to much like you I imagine they'll get suspicious. This is an acting test." N nodded slightly, he looked unhappy but Alice couldn't afford to go easy on him, these were the facts he had to live by now.

"Of course you will be given a school uniform also, that means you can't wear your hat and you can't bring your cube or any other things you'd normally wear." He held the necklace that hung against his chest for a moment with a frown and she just nodded, confirming he wasn't allowed to have it.

"You're asking an awful lot sensei." His tone had changed again, it was dark and it threw Alice off her game once more.

"You're asking quite an _awful_ lot." He stressed the word and walked over to her slowly, deliberately, much like a predator would when stalking prey.

N got like this sometimes she noticed and she had no idea how to react...this was something that simply didn't happen in her world. It was the type of thing she read about in anime and saw in games...not something that happened to real people.

"If you're going to ask so much of me Sensei I am going to ask for something in exchange." He was smiling wickedly as he closed the distance between them, trapping her between the wall and his own body. N was an innocent male though! He didn't know what he was doing surely he had no idea what sort of situation this put her in!

Squeezing her eyes shut she could feel cool breath against her ear, arms against her shoulders as he trapped her against the wall.

"You'll owe me quite a lot won't you Sensei?" He all but purred in her ear, her cheeks beginning to catch fire. "So you'll give me anything I request won't you?" She could hear the chuckle in his voice as he pressed closer to her still, making her heart hammer frantically against her rib cage.

"I-I guess...?" She whispered, feeling all the confidence drop right out of her body. He grinned against the shell of her ear, she could almost feel his teeth against the delicate flesh.

"Then be good and stay quiet for a moment." Before she really had time to process what was happening something cold and hard touched the heated flesh of her neck and she yelped.

"Hey now sensei! What did I say about being quiet." He pulled away from her with an innocent smile that appeared genuine.

"I just need you to wear this for me since I can't." Touching the cold thing around her neck she realised that he had simply put his necklace around her throat for safe keeping.

"That's not bad is it miss guide? You can wear my necklace for me and you have to answer all my questions." He informed her happily. "You'll keep teaching me everything I need to know and looking for a way back home. That should be fine right?"

He was still smiling brightly...completely oblivious to what she had been thinking...how his closeness had bothered her.

Sighing in relief she felt stupid for assuming he was doing something else and even stupider for not objecting immediately when she thought that was his intention. Before she had time to say anything a speeding bullet slammed into N's chest. Alice yelped jumping in surprise as N crashed to the ground with a thud.

"N-N!?" She ran over to help him up but he waved her off with a shaken laugh. He looked okay and she looked at what hit him, it was one of Elliot's base balls...where had that come from?

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't...I...it was an accident!" Looking up she saw Vincent standing in the door way with a crying expression. He sniffled, holding a bat awkwardly in his weak trembling arms, tears budding at the edges of bright innocent eyes.

Alice's heart just melted on sight, she knew kids often made mistakes and always feared the punishment for them.

"I just...wanted to hit like Elliot...I didn't mean to..." He whimpered again and Alice got up walking over to hug her little brother comfortingly.

"It's okay Vince...everyone's fine it wasn't your fault. I'm sure N will forgive you too. I'll just go and finish with your lunches, you can practice more when you play with Elliot later." She encouraged him leaving the room quickly, going to get some ice for N and food for her brothers.

Accidents always happened she was just glad that Vincent was trying to improve himself and N was okay.

...

N

When that blasted ball his N's chest he immediately knew where it had come from and he immediately knew who was to blame. When he looked up to see the sobbing brat in the door way he had to force himself not to scowl and ruin his set in mask.

Alice fussed over them both and after hugging the deceiving little brat she rushed out of the room leaving the two to glare at each other.

"I'm sorry Mr freak...I was aiming for your head, I didn't mean to miss." Vincent was no longer weeping and instead of that pathetic sad look he was smiling wickedly at N, making his blood boil.

"You little brat..." N cursed softly sitting up with one hand to his chest as he winced, that shot was surprisingly rough for a boy that acted so startlingly weak. Vincent glared at him, mutual hatred filling the air with an icy sensation.

"You need to vanish." Vincent growled at him, all acting thrown out the window. "Seeing you touch my big sister with those filthy hands of yours is disgusting." Vincent's face screwed up with distaste.

"She's too innocent to see through your act so I'll make you vanish." It was N's turn to grin this time.

"Ahh, I see. You saw my show. Of course, you sneaky little brat. I wonder how many other people you've run off with that act of yours." Grinning at the brat he continued confidently.

That little display of getting close to Alice was not for her benefit of even his...he had expected the brat to peep in on them so he had done sometime that he knew would stir him up.

"You know something interesting. Bracelets and rings are like binding items...that's why men give them to women to make them belong to them...have you heard what a necklace is if the other two are cuffs?"

N watched as the boys face distorted, no doubt imaging something far worse than the reality of the exchange of his necklace.

"You got it kid, it's a pretty collar isn't it?" Vincent raised the bat like he was going to strike N out of pure anger but just then Alice appeared in the door way and slipped it from his hands.

"I said you could practice when you get outside, let's not have another accident." She might be clueless but her timing was simply undeniably perfect. However... now that he looked at it...

N stared at the necklace around her pale flesh in a different light now, it was more like he had shown himself just how binding a little bit of jewellery could be. He liked seeing her wear it...he liked seeing the horror on the brats face as he gazed at it even more .

"Off you go now Vincent, please don't slow down. If you were late I'd be terribly upset." Nudging him out of the room with the plastic bag filled with delicious food N watched as the boy was forced out by his well intentioned sister. N had to fight the urge to wave to him tauntingly, he had won this little round after all.

"Thanks for not being too harsh on him N. He tries so hard I'd feel bad if I knocked him down." Alice smiled sweetly at him again he felt a little guilty for using her as a way to fight with someone, with a child no less. That was low of him.

Still the lingering satisfaction of the look on Vincent's face was enough to trump that feeling. Suddenly from over head there were thundering steps down the stairs, her other little brother no less. He was _terribly_ noisy.

"Sis!" He called as he leapt down the last few stairs with a happy grin, he was energetic and confident...and much more honest than his wicked twin brother. Alice turned to great him at the bottom of the stair, lunch bag in one hand and a hug in the other.

N watched the brief but sweet exchange between brother and sister. She kissed his forehead gently and combed his spiked hair back down. He complained as children do the whole time but still N could only stare at this scene...an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Sis quick toying with my hair!" He complained loudly while N tried to remember his name. Thankfully Alice had it ready to give to him.

"Elliot you can't go to school looking a mess. You've matched your buttons up all wrong. Would it kill you to pay more attention?" Alice scolded him as she fixed his shirt and combed his hair frantically. An older sister fussing over her little brothers.

"You know that a knight has to be well presented don't you?" Her brother had nothing to say in reply to that, obviously a tender area for the young boy. So he wanted to be a knight? N found that amusing, cute even.

"Yes I know..." He pouted childishly earning another affectionate tussle of his hair from Alice. Vincent had entered the room without N's notice but with Alice and his brother there he behaved perfectly well, mask firmly in place he ran to his sister hugging her legs tightly.

She bent down to return the hug before hugging Elliot as well. Sending them both off she watched as they walked together for the bus. Vincent running up to his taller brother to cling to his arm like a younger sibling might...however they were twins making Vincent's behaviour even more childish.

Elliot paused to look back at Alice, bat over his shoulder and brother in the other hand. He shouted back a goodbye before they both ran off.

"Where are they going?" N came up behind his guide to ask softly.

"They are going to school...just like we are." Adding that suddenly she grabbed his hand and began to lead him out of the house after her brothers had vanished from sight.

"We'll be getting a bus to the high school. So hurry up and get ready." Alice took him to the front of his current home and stopped pointing at him very seriously.

"As of right now you are not N but Nate! You are my cousin who has dyed their hair green and was home schooled! Don't forget it!" With those orders barked at him she turned back to the house to get ready.

Sighing heavily he shook his head as she departed. Alice acted very different when it was the two of them. The gentle touch towards her brothers gone, the nervousness and timid nature shown towards bullies gone...she was all over the place.

"Are all women this strange?" He wondered aloud. The only girls he had constant contact with were the goddesses and they were always kind and gentle, no change there.

Alice constantly changed...closing his eyes he remembered another girl that constantly changed. The thought had him clenching his hand into a tight fist.

"As soon as I return home Touko...I'll find you and we'll keep that deal." He muttered before vanishing into the house to get ready for an unfamiliar setting.

...

Alice.

_Oh god._

Sitting on the bus next to N was agonisingly painful.

_Oh _god_._

No matter how much she squeezed her eyes shut or how many times she tried to ignore it...it was impossible to ignore.

_Oh **god**. Why is this happening!?_

N sat next to her on the aisle seat, one hand lazily draped over her shoulder, legs crossed over one another and the other hand used to hold his chin up. Alice was turning red and N was either ignoring her lost comfort or was ignorant to it.

_To make it even worse! _Alice thought angrily. _Those people won't stop staring!_

Looking up away from the window towards the goggling eyes of other students her face felt a fresh wave of heat hit it full blast. N was the cool and confident N that she imagined in the games, no cute N to be found on this bus ride.

Sighing weakly she tried again to lose herself in thought as she so often would when staring out the window on a moving bus...it was impossible!

"Uh excuse me?" Looking up Alice was surprised to see one of the less rude people on the bus leaning over to talk to N. It was a girl with big glasses and black hair. A nervous looking girl that had leant over from her seat besides them to talk to N.

"What is it?" N turned his head slightly to address her and Alice could see how that girl's face caught the same fire as hers.

N's face was perfect...a perfect face that should have been impossible to achieve in their reality. Knowing this along with his incredibly strong aura and intense stare...there no doubt he was going to make girl's heads spin.

Nervously the girl continued her question. "I was just...well it's just that I've never seen you here before?" She meant of course she'd never seen someone with green hair on their bus...of course not. It was the same kids on the bus every day after all.

"Ah I see." He smiled pleasantly to her, so polite and collected. "This is my first time in this transport vehicle." He could at least try to sound like a normal teenager!

"Aren't you old enough to be driving?" A boy from the row in front of them asked, pretending he wasn't listening to their talking.

"Probably. I lack a vehicle right now though." N continued calm and confident, the speech of a king completely at ease in his surroundings. So very unlike Alice right then.

"Are you going to our school?" The girl next to the first girl peeped her head over her friend to peer at N...looked like he had become the centre of their attention. No surprises there. He was strange and ne and had green hair for Pete's-sake!

"I am, I'll be enrolling today miss." Again he sounded too polite for a teenager! Alice could feel complaints and scoldings forming up inside of her but she could say anything or she'd ruin this little act they had going!

"If you're enrolling you must have moved here. Where did you move to? Are you living on your own? Do you have siblings?" The questions all came in a rush, people wanted to know and they wanted to be the first to know. Suddenly she was pulled sharply against N's side by that arm that had rest over her shoulders.

"I will be living with my cousin. Alice." He said calmly, bringing her into the centre of attention...she didn't like it.

"Your cousin?" One boy asked sceptically. "Why you got your arm over her shoulder like that?" Another issue Alice had to drill into his brain later...cousins don't touch like that!

"Why you ask. That's a stupid question, Isn't it obvious?" N fixed them with that even stare of his and said something that Alice could have just killed herself over.

"Because I feel like it."

_Oh god WHY!?_

...

The bus ride had been hell after that. She could see it in their eyes...they thought they were weird. As soon as the bus rolled to a stop Alice had grabbed his hand and all bust dragged him off the bus.

To his credit N said nothing as she ran through the onslaught of students entering the great school. The school was huge and prestigious, it was the bright, the rich and influential.

It was made for people like Alice's family who were well off and incredibly well respected. It consisted of a high school and middle school, both on separate sides of the road.

Naturally the high school building were far larger and grander than the middle school ones. There was less play ground and more brilliant white walls and music rooms.

This place was supported by Alice's family from a long time ago and thus she and her family were known all around the school. This wasn't a good thing for her.

Panting an wheezing, she finally stopped at the tallest building. It had staff rooms all through it, planning rooms, private meeting rooms. Everything students were not allowed to go into without permission. It was often thought of as a scary and mature place but to Alice it was far too familiar.

Taking N into this great towering building she made her way up the many flights of stairs with him. N had not spoken since their bus trip, perhaps he knew he had embarrassed her and was playing it safe.

Good for him because she would have belted him if he said one more stupid thing without thinking! Coming to the very top floor of the castle tower shaped building, Alice took a deep breath trying to relax that deep aching in her tired legs.

"Okay N listen carefully." Turning to school her student. Alice tried to be as serious as possible.

"We're going to see the headmaster now so you have to be on your best behaviour. I know you're well taught to be polite and firm but...please try to be a little more...normal. You're going to make things hard if you sound so...proper all the time!" He looked at her with a blank expression, obviously confused as to the issue.

"You'll understand the longer you're around other people our age. Now again tell me who you are." N straightened himself with a bitter face, she'd been over this with him ten times already before now but he was a good student and did as she asked of him.

"I am Nate Orish Mau and I am seventeen years old. My hair is dyed and I was home schooled with my parents but they left to travel and so I am living with my other side of the family. You are my cousin." He made a particularly angry face at that part. "I don't like being your cousin."

"Why not?" Alice began to wonder if she should be offended by that statement, was being family to her a chore or something? Suddenly N got very close to her again, easily looming over her without the slightest of effort to be given.

"People question why I am touching you miss guide. It gets on my nerves." His arms snaked around her body once more despite her struggling and protests.

"What's wrong with touching my guide like this? I don't understand at all." N's voice was too close to her ear and she could hear him chuckling lightly. "You're much more honest when you're like this."

He had trapped her against the door and his body once more, she should be use to his random attacks by now...but how could anyone truly get use to this!?

"N I..." She was just about to say something...anything to end this embarrassing situation but to her surprise it was a much more painful ending to this event. The door opened.

The door opened inwards and she was sent tumbling down to the ground with N, losing balance easily they crashed down onto the floor of the principal's office. She didn't get hurt though, when she opened her eyes she found herself staring directly at N's shirt...what?

N's arm was nestled behind her head, protecting it from the impact of the ground, his other hand resting on the ground to brace his own fall and stop himself from crushing her. Still...he was on top of her leaving them in an awkward position...hadn't they been through this once already!?

"Alice?" That startled voice belonged to the principle. Looking up at the older man she laughed nervously.

"H-Hey...Uncle..."

_If looks could kill...oh god..._

...

Sitting around the coffee table was a little to awkward for her liking. Her 'uncle' was all but covered in malicious shadows. Much like her father he had immediately jumped to the worst conclusion and was ready to murder N on spot.

"Uncle it really wasn't what it looked like." She tried to explain for the hundredth time but he wasn't accepting any of it. Still he wasn't at all angry with her.

"Of course not dear! Here have some tea." He poured some of his famous tea into the small china cup he had given them when he sat them both down.

"You too young man?" He turned to N with a smile...but the way he was smiling was anything but nice. It was the smile of a killer just barely restraining himself. When N held out his cup for tea...the very action held so much malice to it that Alice ended up inching away from the man.

Her uncle was a thirty year old man with curly blonde hair he had tied back in a pony tail. He was a little strange seeing as most men his age and class would cut their long hair but...he lived in a whole other time to the rest of them.

Also...he was not actually her uncle by blood. He was her god father and she had just learnt to call him uncle and often...he would care for her and her brothers when her parents were gone on one of their many trips.

He was someone special to her in the end, blood relatives or not.

"Uncle...really calm down." She had just finished another attempt to calm him when he reached forward to grab N by the front of his shirts.

"What are your intentions with my Alice, boy?" Her uncle looked rather scary in the moment and Alice could only shake her head with a sigh.

"I intend to learn from Alice sir." N answered, able to keep a cool head in this situation. "I intend to learn all I can about animals and human behaviour from her. I intend to continue eating her food and staying in the house across from her and studying her." Her uncle didn't know what to make of that and merely stared at N...not sure where to go from there. Sometimes his oddness was useful.

"Uncle, his name is Nate. He just turned seventeen and he is living in the house we rent across the road. He isn't leaving for a while so I decided to get him into school so he doesn't fall behind." She explained slowly for her uncle.

" I want to enrol Nate in the school. Surely you know we are related." Alice tried to make it sound as easy as N made it sound...she didn't even come close. Her uncle gave her the confused look she expected so she continued. "My parents are out of town again and so I brought Nate here to enrol him."

Alice watched her uncle sit back and think about it...this was going to be hard seeing as N wasn't born here. He had no papers or identification to go off...she had hoped her uncle would not question it but...he didn't seem to trust N at all.

"His hair is green." He said finally as if that was reason enough to refuse him. Alice frowned at him and he continued.

"I don't think I can allow you to just enrol him Alice. You need a guardian for that and paper work and...all sorts of other bothersome things..." Alice made big pleading eyes at him...as childish as that was. He did seem to stop and think about it. He studied her for a long time and something important seemed to be going around in his mind.

"I'd have to take it up with the higher ups..." Although there was the principle there was another person in this chain of schools that monitored everything that went on...it was all very strange to Alice.

"Of course...having said that. You know exactly how influential you are." Looking up in surprise she saw her uncle smiling at her and she knew she was off the hook. Her uncle would take care of everything!

Smiling so happily she leapt up to hug her uncle tightly, just to hear him murmured to her.

"Next time don't you lie to me about who he is though." Surprised she pulled back to look at her smiling uncle. "I trust you're doing the right thing Alice, you're a clever girl...just this once I'll look over it. Now please step out. I must talk to our newest student."

Pausing she looked to N who had been so quiet during all this. He gave her a slight nod without looking at her, taking this as a good sign she said thank you and goodbye to her uncle.

Leaving the room she waited for N to be done in there, pausing she thought about what could have bewitched her uncle into helping them. He wasn't a strict rules man...but he certainly wasn't a misfit.

It seemed to easy...too good to be true but everything that involved N was that way she was sure.

...

N

The old man didn't trust him. He sat himself back down in the seat after Alice had left and eyed N off seriously.

"Okay boy. Will you be causing any problems? I am doing this for Alice and it is a huge risk for me and her, I trust you understand that?" N had no other choice but to nod once, silently and simply.

"Good. I know you are not her cousin, I know you are not who you say you are in any way. However I am going to let all of that go past unquestioned as I only have one request." N remained silent, he knew that it was the best course of action in this situation. This man was clearly the top in this establishment.

"You will look after Alice." He was not as all surprised when he said that. He had been expecting it. When he had been making his choice on what to do with N and Alice he had noticed how her uncle's gaze travelled to her...almost sadly. Looking down N frowned, he knew why the man looked so worried.

"It's because she doesn't have many friends isn't it?" Looking back up at the man he saw the sad expression again, just barely hidden.

"Alice doesn't have it easy that's true enough. Looking after those brothers of hers and being picked on at school...but she seemed to really want this. I've never seen her want anything so I am breaking all the rules to allow this.

I trust you will stay by her side, you will be in all her classes and she will keep an eye on you...while you keep an eye on her. It's about time my little niece had something she actually cared about." N and the old man agreed on that one point.

"However..." His tone changed again and N looked away from his tea to the suddenly enraged man. "I ever see you on top of her like that and I'll personally skin you boy!" That sort of anger was surprising for N, who had really never seen such intense anger brought on by someone caring for another person.

"Understood sir." He replied firmly, knowing he had to polite with this man to relax him.

Sitting back down the old man cleared his throat and calmed visibly. "You will need to go and buy some school uniforms. No doubt Alice already has that planned she is not attending school today. So she probably plans on taking you shopping with her." He laughed when he said that...was there something funny about shopping?

"I'll be watching you two closely so don't do anything bad." He began flicking through papers idly.

"I'll have Alice email me all your details and I'll go from there. Good day mister Nate." Realising that was his dismissal he rose up from the chair reading himself to leave but he stopped at the door hearing the old man speak again.

"I've only asked you for one thing, you didn't question it...just how much do you know about our young Alice." Pausing N thought that over for a moment, they had only been together for a few moons...but...even so he felt positive he knew her better than most other already. She was so terribly open and he was so terribly clever.

"Nothing at all sir. I've only just met her." It was cold but the old man only laughed as he opened the door to leave.

"You're a wonderful liar son." Smiling N closed the door behind him and looked up to see the girl waiting for him. Smile at the ready. Alice really was a very simple girl.

"Everything okay N?" She asked, still incredibly happy that they were able to pull it off.

"Everything is just fine miss guide." He told her and her smile only brightened, she was just too sweet and to honest...she was going to get very hurt because of that. She already was getting hurt.

"I am allowed to attend the school and I'll be in your classes, so you got to teach me even more now." Nodding brightly she again took his hand and began to lead him away.

She always did that now, when she was in a rush she would grab his hand so carelessly. She really had no idea when something was dangerous, N was beginning to fret over his sensei.

"I'm going to take you shopping, I can't have the others getting suspicious." She was chittering away as she led him back down the same stairs they had rushed up not too much earlier.

"Do you like shopping sensei?" He asked her and she froze mid-step, seeming to shudder in her next breath...was that a no? N thought all girls liked shopping?

His sensei was strange...

_..._

_Alice: "That was unrealistically easy."_

_Me: "Shut up! It's one in the morning I'll make it as unrealistic as I want!"_

_N: "I think it went perfectly fine Right Sensei?." *Smiles with flowers everwhere.* __I'll fucking kill that little brat!__ *Evil, evil, aura!*_

_Me: "Crikey..." *Backs away from the angry hateful N.*_

_Alice: *Is oblivious.*_

_White: *Is not in this chapter and thus just face palms and shakes her head.*_

_Me: "Also I finally fixed that thing where the italics were random...Damn! that was annoying!" *Checks the chapter view.* "Or maybe it's not fixed... T-T WHY!?"_

_Me: "AND thank you all for the lovely reviews. ^^ I hope to get lots more! Don't forget to tell me what I need to add or should not add, ect. You all know I work faster with Reviews! Until next time!"_


	11. Chapter 11 Shopping isn't for girls?

_Author's Note._  
_1: Sorry I am late again! *Bows.* SOORRRYYY! I have excuses but I won't make them! Just enjoy it now it's here._  
_2: I am getting a lot of lemon pleas…I am working on it I've just never really been great with lemons but you all want one so I PROMISE there'll be one!_  
_3: FUCKING N SHOPPING MATE! (I am Australian. :p )  
4: How is the spacing?  
5: REVIEW BECAUSE I UPDATE FASTER! :D_  
_I am sorry this took so long, I really am but I'm having trouble with updating while also planning out an extreamly long Rise of the Guardian's fan fic that I am not sure is any good and to make it worse some idiot cut my hair to short!…So please be paitent with me. :3_

Chapter 11 Shopping isn't for girls?

Alice.

It was like N had never been shopping before...

Standing at the entrance of the shopping centre with an expression that could only be described as brain dead, Alice watched as N marvelled at every little thing his eyes landed on. Exploiting his childish side to the max. He marvelled at the fountain inside, the number of people, the number of stores, the smells and sights...anything he found remotely interesting….and even the things that weren't interesting at all.

She on the other hand hated just being here, the clothes were everywhere and she couldn't stand it. Alice had always hated clothes shopping; she could never get what she wanted when she shopped as a child. Her sitters always gave her cute, pathetically girly things to wear and it drove her insane.

N however didn't share her distaste for the experience, he buzzed around like a hyper active humming bird. Bouncing all around the front of the fountain while she stood in the entrance just staring as her odd companion…along with many other people. Everywhere that they went people would look at them because of his odd appearance and even stranger attitude.

N noticed that she hadn't come up to him or the fountain yet and turned sharply to face her with a bright smile. Much like the day on the beach he waved over to her enthusiastically, beckoning her over to him as he did.

"Sen-Sei!" He shouted to her in the shopping centre it echoed and all her dignity flew out the window as she trudged over to the man everyone was looking at. Children thought he was funny and parents ushered them away as if to tell them not to look as someone strange or not to be cruel to someone who was 'special.' Stopping next to N, Alice stared at the ground as all the blood rushed up into her face. N was gushing on about the water fixture before he again took notice of her.

"Miss guide? Your ears are bright red." He told her gently, leaning down to touch the tips of her ears. Leaping back from him she felt all the blood in her body run to her face…all of it. Her face was a tomato and her limbs where ghost arms and legs.

N found this overly amusing and just continued along his happy go lucky way. Lowering her head and slumping her shoulders Alice cursed him and this place. Slowly she followed after him wondering just when he'd calm down…with the way he was going it was unlikely he was ever going to stop jumping around like that.

"Miss guide." He turned to her again, walking backwards with his hands behind his back as he did. "Where should we go first?" She didn't like the happy way he said 'first'. However _he _was the one shopping not her. At that thought suddenly she brightened, thinking of the trauma she could put on him with funny clothes. But looking at that happy face she didn't think she had the heart to do it.

"We'll drop by a few of the usual clothes stores. I particularly like this one." She told him while pointing it out on one of the store maps they had placed around. "JayJay's. This is teenaged wear and it's usually very good." As usual N was attentive and when she spoke he wouldn't get distracted or wander off.

After choosing the route she wanted to take him they set off around the shopping centre. N was smiling brightly along the way, marvelling in everything new he saw. It was like leading a child around the centre…she didn't mind that much though. His happy nature was slowly bleeding into her own grumpy shopping mood and it didn't take long to have her laughing and smiling with him on the odd occasion.

Taking him into the first store she let him run amuck around the shop while she casually looked through clothes. He seemed to want everything he could get his hands on. There was only one problem…

"N put your clothes back on!" Alice exclaimed in horror, running over to him to stop him from pulling the rest of his shirt off. He had just suddenly started stripping in the middle of the store!

"What's wrong? I can't see if it fits when it's not on me." He told her reasonably…he really had never been shopping before!

"I know N." She said patiently, trying to ignore the odd looks that they always got. "We have changing rooms for that, getting half naked like that in public isn't exactly normal." As if understanding her meaning he nodded…but the idea was still obviously lost on him.

"Would you like to try those on sir?" A timid shop assistant asked, taking note of the massive pile of clothes they had accumulated in only fifteen minutes. Alice thanked the woman a great many times for not minding his sudden stripping while waiting for him to get changed.

"I only want these." N dropped about five of the thirty items he had picked out on the counter….he was pickier than he looked. Alice noticed the serious lack of white in his selection choice, it was though the colour alone made him physically ill. She'd have to look into that later.

"Okay, that's twenty seven dollars." The assistant smiled distantly and Alice glanced to N who was holding a wad of cash. It looked like he had whipped out five hundred dollars.

"Will this do?" He asked her bluntly and Alice all but shrieked as she yanked the money off him quickly.

"N-N! Don't offer that sort of money! Honestly you're hopeless, they have numbers on them you know!" She scolded him while giving the woman a fifty and waiting for the bagging and the change. "That's too much money to just wave around flippantly you know, especially for someone our age…" While leaving the store she continued to scold him.

"Well it's nothing like our money. Speaking of which…what happened to my money?" He murmured flicking through the notes and coins in his large hands. "They weren't like this before I got here… They just changed." Alice had been wondering about the same thing.

"If that's the case then I suppose that means whatever way you came through wasn't exactly 'normal.' Of course with you nothing seems normal." Sighing Alice waved her hand over her head in an expression of frustration. N never failed to find her antics and frustration amusing, even when she was being serious.

"Show me what to use." He said coming up behind her to take the cash from her hands and flick through it. Alice didn't like explaining currency…but she figured he was smart enough to understand this. It was only numbers after all.

"Okay, see this? All these notes are dollars, the number on them shows how many dollars they are. So if someone asks for ten dollars just give them…." She waited for him to show her the blue note and she smiled patting him on the head, praising him.

"Now the coins. The silver ones are cents not dollars. They are less value obviously while the gold ones are dollars again. Understand? Let's try. Give me three dollars and twenty cents." It took N a moment but he soon handed over three coins to her, two gold and one silver. This little payment game went on for a while and the more N learnt the happier he seemed. He was proud of himself and Alice was proud of him too.

(NOTE: I am Australian, soooo if that doesn't make sense to you we just got different types of notes and coins. ^^ Sorry.)

They visited almost every shop they found. He'd turn to her occasionally holding something strange, he turned to her with various types of glasses and hats.

"Look, look!" He shouted at one point and when she turned to look at him she all but had a heart attack, he was wearing heart ringed glasses and a top hat, making a pouty face. It was just too much for her and she laughed until she could no longer breathe. He had laughed with her, even if he was selfish and ignorant at times he always seemed to be happy when she smiled. N always seemed to be trying to make her laugh while they shopped, just to make it more fun for the girl who hated it so much.

As time when on Alice became a little more relaxed in their shopping, he was ridiculous with some of his ideas on what he should wear and she had to turn him away from many, many bad choices. N would always have piles upon piles of clothes and come out with only one or two…and no white. It was starting to bother Alice, he had to wear plain white occasionally or he'd get branded with the emo label at school.

So the next shop Alice and N came to she insisted he pick out some white in his selection but while she wasn't looking he tossed them aside and just bought the other colours. He had figured out to buy things on his own so quickly that she couldn't even sneakily buy some.

Feeling the frustration building over such a small and pointless thing she began finding ways to try and get him to buy the shirt.  
Sneaking it into the pile whens he thought he wasn't looking, he was looking.  
Trying to pass it off as grey, he wasn't fooled.  
Complimenting it,  
saying it was cheap,  
saying that it was on sale  
or  
that it was important in high school…nothing worked!

The frustration had reached its peak and she was about to give up when she noticed him staring at something and more to the point it was _white!_

"Do you like that one?" Alice asked him and he immediately shook his head and backed away from it.

"It's ugly, I don't like it." That blunt answer was just a tad too fast and a tad too cold. She watched him walk away to look at some black clothes as if to compensate for his slight interest in an item of white clothing.

Alice paused to look at what he had been staring at the white scarf he'd been staring at. She paused in thought, since he arrived he wouldn't put on his white shirt anymore and wore anything else…perhaps it had something to do with Touko?

She struggled with the choice for a little while but finally she saw N going into the change room again and so she ran over to the counter and bought the scarf, it was expensive but for some reason it seemed important that she buy it for him. She wanted him to feel comfortable again.

With it nicely hidden in one of their many, many shopping bags she felt at ease again…and the day progressed without N ever guessing she had bought something. At last her sneaky attempts had been successful!

"You certainly despise this, I haven't seen you look at a single thing longingly." N startled her when he appeared behind her, clutching his new clothes in one hand and the ones already bought in the other. The bags were beginning to pile up by this point and Alice was confused as to how he could hold them all so easily, surely they were heavy.

"I have no interest in shopping." Turning away sharply she began to walk briskly. She didn't want him to notice that she had bought him something. Still he followed after her, easily matching her steps with his longer legs. She again was met with the strange image of him walking behind her with the most smug smile and her rushing on ahead of the strange looks they were given.

Glancing back over towards N shyly she noticed he was indeed following along behind her with that smug look. He was simply to full of himself. Closing her eyes for a brief second a thought fell upon her suddenly and she smiled almost more smugly than he was smiling.

"Come on I am taking you somewhere different!" Taking hold of his hand she began to drag him through the store like a child, a fitting comparison for where they were going.

"This is…" N stared in the polished windows with eyes full of awe. "A…toy shop?" It was one of those nice moments when N was rendered damn near speechless and Alice felt incredibly more experienced than him.

"That's right, you bought so much clothing it seemed only fair to give you a little reward for it." N's gaze snapped to her with a frightening fire in those grey hues. There was childish joy on his face and although he was so selfish and greedy at times she couldn't deny what expression.

"Go on." She waved him off and no sooner than she had waved he was gone. Vanishing inside of the door way and behind piles and piles of toys. Stuffed toys, mechanical ones, gimmicky ones, funny and strange. Anything that a child could want.

Alice didn't run in after him but she did follow him in, looking up at all the different toys there were to see. She rather liked the stuffed toy section and while he stared at train sets she took her time picking up each every cute stuffed toy she found and giving it a name and personality. It had been a long time since she had been able to bring stuffed toys home. She had two little brothers that would either steal them away or see she still liked such childish things if she brought them, so Alice restrained herself.

Suddenly the stuffed tiger in her arms was taken away from her and all but stuffed in her face as a pair of arms poked out from the pile of stuffed toys. She clutched her heart, scared out of her wits for a moment before she recognised the set of hands that held the stuffed toy.

"N-N…what are you doing in there!" She demanded seeing the wicked smile on the face that was still half submerged in the toys.

"In all honesty I wanted to scare you when you walked past but you took such an interest in them I couldn't help it." He smiled so innocently, she could almost see the little flowers popping up around his head as he gave her that smile. "You like this one? Miss guide?" He pressed the nose of the tiger against her own nose and she sighed shaking her head.

"That's enough you clown get out!" She shouted and moved to reach in and grab him out but his fingers curled around her wrist and pulled her down into the toys with him. It was lucky that they didn't go everywhere and the workers didn't see them.

"Got you!" He shouted triumphantly while she kicked and elbowed wherever she could, she was furious that he would treat her like a fool but still she found herself laughing despite her supposed anger.

"You like this one don't you?" That stuffed tiger was in front of her face again, making her stop her wild thrashing as they lay there in the pile of scattered toys. "So you won't mind it kissing you?" Before she was able to comprehend his words the stuffed toy was pressed against her mouth as though it was indeed kissing her. It was so childish and yet strangely she felt like she was in danger…it was an odd feeling.

It was at that moment that the store clerk came around and saw them, assuming they had fallen he helped Alice out as N remained sitting by the fallen toys, the stuffed animal still sat in one hand. Alice thanked the worker for not assuming the worst of them before turning to N who seemed lost in thought over something.

"N I am going to go to the bakery just outside for lunch. Please come and meet me there once you're done here." She cast him a smile but he didn't seem to see it as she turned away from him and left the store.

….

N

The store worker had begun picking up the stuffed animals around him and yet N had not moved. Sitting there he eyed off the toy, it was some sort of stripped creature, he'd have Alice tell him all about them later of course but for now it was not the creature that interested him but instead what he'd used it for.

"That sort of thing…" He murmured softly poking at the front of the toys face where Alice's lips must have touched. "Isn't it something like an in-direct kiss?" The thought interested him and without so much as a second thought he had kissed the front of the toy as well.

However….

"It's not really that good." He murmured quietly. "Something like an indirect kiss…is more like a taunt than a gift." N wasn't satisfied, the toy was without feeling and yet it had been pressed to Alice's delicate little face. Perhaps he had done something wrong. He took the toy to the counter no matter how disappointed he felt. Buying it for no particular reason he thought about his own actions, N had never actually kissed anyone before…so perhaps it was best to start with something easy?

It was puzzling and he found himself wondering what sort of face his guide would make if he was to kiss her out of the blue, it was an interesting thought. Smiling slightly as he left to toy shop with at least three more bags than he had gone in with he went to look for his sensei…thinking all bout the type of expression she might make when surprised with a kiss.

N was certainly interested in seeing that.

...

Alice

"Oh wow!" N had appeared as suddenly as always, leaning over her shoulder to peer at the rows and rows of sweets that had been baked and set on display. With one hand pressed to the glass he towered over Alice who was bending down to inspect the sweets. Sitting up straight again she smiled at the look of awe on N's face. The sweets were almost like an art form in their own right and she knew they tasted wonderful.

"How incredible! They look just like what you bring me after dinner sensei!" He chimed with the happiest of smiles as he took his turn inspecting the goods. "I wonder if they taste as nice as your cooking. I want one of these, and one of these!" He went on like that for a while as the poor girl behind the counter struggled to keep up with the extensive order.

Alice picked out a few as well, N taking note of what she picked and ordering one for himself, trusting her to show him what was good and what was not.  
"You see N? These ones will melt in your mouth, they're terribly sweet. Isn't it all so lovely?" Gushing over sweets like this would have been embarrassing if he wasn't doing the exact same thing, though half way though he pouted slightly.

"They look good but I wonder if they really are as good as your cooking Alice?" He murmured seeming to really think about that idea hard for a moment. "I bet yours is nicer…it's made by you after all." Peering over at him in surprise she saw the earnest truth in his words, he wasn't pulling her leg, he was truly comparing her cooking to that of a bakery. She didn't have time to tell him how sweet that was and how happy it made her feel.

"Here." Turning to the other counter she encountered a tray of small sweets that looked freshly baked and a pretty open smile. "Try one, they're free of course. I don't know if my recipe is any good yet so please test some." The boy looked overjoyed when she took one of the sweets, they crumbled in her mouth and although they were a little bit messy the treats tasted as heavenly and warm as they looked.

"They're delicious!" She told him happily, sweets like these baked goods were always a weak point for her and she became entirely too friendly when they were involved. She didn't even notice the way N was staring at the two as the girl packed up their extensive and expensive order.

"You like them? That's great. I was so concerned that they would be a failure. Thank you for the feedback miss." The boy smiled even more happily when he received praise, however that praise seemed to spur less than happy emotions.

A set of large hands clasped around her shoulders and before she knew it something warm and moist had licked at her cheek, collecting crumbs she had not been aware were there in the first place. She would have shrieked if she hadn't been frozen solid right there. It didn't take her long to figure out that someone had just licked her and that someone was, of course, N.

"Your technique is sloppy, the crumbs went everywhere." N was using that scary voice again, childish joy lost. The boy seemed taken back by the appearance of such a strange person however he only forced an awkward smile and thanked N for his advice. "Miss guide you got it all over your face." That scary voice was now directed at her and she found herself crumbling like the baked sweets to the pressure he was putting on her with just his presence.

"Hold still and I'll clean you." He whispered and again licked her cheek a little lower this time, closer to the corner of her mouth. "How can you expect to enjoy sweets if you get them all over you?" He purred against her ear and she could feel the tops of her ears turning red.

"I'll be more careful!" Alice all but shouted as she leapt away from him. By the time she turned to face him again he was smiling innocently and holding the plastic bags over his shoulder, along with their order of sweets.

"We should go, don't you think?" He asked pleasantly and set out the way they'd come. Alice could only stare after him for a while, trying to grasp what had just happened. As usual he had left her completely thrown off balance and all she could do was sigh and pull her self control back together.

"I want to go look at the top hat again!" He called back to her spurring her to run after him and tell him why she wasn't going to let him wear that to school.

…..

Against her complaints he had bought the strange top hat and love heart shaped glasses and she was left standing outside of the change rooms waiting for him to be done again. She felt like how boyfriends that were dragged along to shopping dates must feel when the girl took forever with her shopping, for the hundredth time she looked at her watch. Grimacing when she saw how slowly the needle was moving, as if to drag out the shopping even more.

"Sensei, try this on." Very suddenly a boring experience was turned into a nightmare as he stuffed a dress into her chest. "You haven't bought anything yet, a girl should get nice things don't you agree?" He smiled happily and pushed the dress against her chest a little more.

"I'm not interested." She told him bluntly, trying to deny the dress but he moved in closer to her with a smug grin and bent down to her level.

"If you object then I'll have to dress you like a child myself." No sooner than the threat had been made she was inside the change room with the damned dress. He was behaving entirely too smug today and her heart was just going to give out on her if this continued much more. She could still hear N laughing on the other side of the door at her reaction, smug bastard.

Against her best wishes she did try the dress on. It was, surprisingly, white. So it was okay for her to wear white but not for N to do so? He was very confusing…he had a white shirt in the games so this must be a problem of his. While she was in the change room she had left all the bags out by the door…not realising what theproblem might be.

"Hey what's this?" N called from outside the change room door, his tone was a little off. He sounded annoyed but Alice didn't put her finger on it fast enough.

"N I can't see what you're holding up from in here." She told him the obvious problem while tying the white straps around her neck, the dress was far too stylish for someone like her she knew that but still…she did want to try it on. Staring at it in the mirror she wondered what people would think if they saw a girl like her in this sort of get up.

"Fine." Suddenly the door opened and she fell forward, away from the eyes that belonged to her partner. Arms wrapped around her to stop her from falling and she heard the door close and latch, she hadn't even locked it herself.

"What are you doing?" Alice turned to look at him and saw the white scarf she'd bought him and then she saw the angry expression on his face.

"What is this?" N demanded, arms tightening around her waist almost to the point of which it hurt. "Why did you buy this Alice?" He really was getting angry over something so simple. She opened her mouth to shout at him but suddenly his large hand covered it.

"Is everything okay in there sir?" A female's voice asked, obviously hearing the commotion.

"Yes, thank you. Just had a bit of trouble, thank you for your concern." He waited for the steps of the shop assistant to fade away and still he did not release her mouth, pulling her a little closer now as he took notice of the dress he'd made her wear.

"You moron…you can't even get dressed right. You really are too much like a child." He scolded her and began to bunch up the material around her knees and pull it up to adjust it properly, still restraining her as he did. Something else seemed to catch his attention while he adjusted the dress and his hands paused in their fixing, suddenly pressing against the side of her upper leg causing Alice to tense up and even make a little sound of surprise.

"Shh, if you're not quiet that woman will come back." N sounded calm and yet Alice was anything but calm, why was he touching her body so carelessly!? His hands travelled up the side of her leg and against her thigh, pausing for a moment to look at her. Alice had her eyes screwed shut tightly and her cheeks were again on fire.

"You're to obedient miss guide. If I wanted to do something like this…" He murmured his hand slipping up under the dress material to brush against the flesh of her stomach. "Wouldn't you complain?" His fingers just brushed under the curve of her breast, something no one had ever done or touched before. It was simply too much for her and she did complain, with her actions more than words. Slamming her elbow back against his chest she tried to push them apart but N manipulated the situation, tipping her off balance and having her fall against the side of the change room.

When Alice opened her eyes again she was met with N's own grey ones as he held her there against the wall. Her heart was about to leap right out of her chest if it was from fear or….excitement she was unsure. He only behaved this way occasionally…had the scarf really upset him so much?

"Really…you're too small. Too fragile and innocent, far too much like…_her._" He was murmuring under his breath, she was so close that she could hear what was being said. "Sensei…." He moved closer to her almost as if he was hugging her…only he still held her wrists in his own hands. "You make this incredibly easy you know." He moved a little closer to her, he was only a breath away and Alice suddenly wondered what it would be like to be kissed. Would it be soft or rough? Sweet or bitter? Would it be as amazing as people said or as terrifying as she imagined it? She had no idea….she was afraid of what might happen.

"N…" When she spoke he covered her mouth again, not looking at her anymore. They stood like that for longer than Alice cared to remember, he was silent, the only sound was his soft breathing and all but audible sound of the cogs in his head working. Eventually his hands released her and he stepped back from her, as suddenly as the switch had been turned it was off and back to normal.

"Sorry if I frightened you I just wanted to see the cute face you'd make!" He told her happily before pausing to pick the scarf back up. "I told you it was ugly didn't I? You have such poor taste in buying something like this. Silly sensei." He teased her before quickly slipping out the door and shutting it behind him. Alice slid down the wall until she sat on the ground, the white dress pooling around and for an unknown reason she cried.

Sitting there silently tears dripped from her chin to stain the pretty white dress. She had been afraid of what was happening…and as usual he had left her feeling torn and confused. When he acted like that he never looked like N though…he looked like Ghetsis… and that terrified her.

Closing her eyes tightly she curled her knees up to her chest tightly, wondering what her 'student' really thought of her. He did things so sporadically and left just as quickly, she didn't know what he was thinking at all. It not enough…the tears didn't stop, not until she had gotten changed back into her usual clothing. Staring at the door he had left through she continued to ponder what he was thinking.

…..

N

As soon as the door shut N had leant back against the wall beside it, pressing a hand to his face. That had been to close for his liking, she had been far to close and open. Thinking back on how easy it was…how far he could have taken it he felt sick to his stomach.

He didn't like the way he could react when angry, he knew that he must have been like his father to his guide but it was impossible to stop. He had wanted to keep holding her, to remove the pretty dress she had worn. It was driving him mad, his father was a great man but N did not want to be like him, not like that.

Gritting his teeth together he thought about the scarf, she had bought it because he had been staring at it, because she thought he wanted it. In truth it was a pretty item of clothing but he didn't want to wear it. He wanted her to wear it.

Thinking about it now he wanted her to wear it because she looked like Touko.

Drawing his hand away from his face he felt that crippling guilt in his stomach again. He wanted her to do something like that because she looked so much like Touko; it was almost sickening to know he was thinking that way.

"In the end I didn't get to see her face if I kissed her…" He murmured quietly and closed his eyes, waiting for her to come back out. He could tell she was crying…but he wouldn't tell her that.

He thought back to how she praised the boy for his cooking and his show of removing crumbs from her face, the stuffed toy and now the change rooms….N suddenly felt like he was taking advantage of her pathetic innocence.

A dark thought accompanied by a dark anger filled his chest and the ball beside him got to feel the receiving end of that anger when he slammed his fist against it. This world…he was beginning to dislike it, everywhere he looked there were people doing bad things….bad people and he felt like he was finally becoming one of them.

He hated it.

….

Alice

The bus ride home was all but silent, N didn't seem like talking and Alice continued to wonder if he was angry with her. She felt nervous the whole time…nervous he would suddenly turn around and ridicule her for something or say he no longer wanted her to teach him anything.

Even when she brought up the dinner to him that night he seemed distant, off in his own little world while he read one of the many animal books she had gotten him. It was during the clean up from dinner that he finally spoke to her and tossed her a life line.

"When an animal is extinct that is the same as the fossil pokemon correct?" He asked suddenly, he was reading her dinosaur book. It was all she could do not to breath out a heavy sigh of relief as she came over to sit next to him.

"That's right, we get fossils of them here too and that's how we know about them. Of course while sometimes they are sighted in the pokemon world they have never found a living one of these creatures here." Alice felt at ease again as she explained why this was.

"This shark here,…this is a shark right?" He asked pointing to a Megalong.

"Yeah see how big it is in comparison to the great white shark?" Alice pointed to the picture of the great white and then to the human figure under it. "See how big it is in comparison to us."

"W-Wow!" N was back to normal with his over the top reactions and childish face. "That's huge! It could eat a Walelord!" He told her, his face one of fear and amazement.

"There's no need to worry though, those sharks died off thousands of years ago…I am not sure why though." She told him with a little frown, thinking about it herself. That night played out like every night did and should have. She made trips between there and the house, to look after N and her two brothers.

She spent a few good hours talking to N about all the extinct animals and how they relate the some birds and reptiles today, soon she'd introduce the evolution theory…school was going to help him out with it a lot too and Alice was pretty sure they'd just started on Darwin's finches the week before.

"Sensei…" He murmured quietly to her. "When I go to school with you…you'll be with me won't you? To explain things I don't understand?" Alice smiled brightly and nodded, she'd been afraid he'd ditch her at school when he had others to learn from but he seemed unwilling to part from her in that manner.

Relieved the night went on into the darkest hours of the night until, unknowingly, Alice fell asleep leaning against him.

…..

N

N had noticed that his teacher had fallen asleep when she failed to reply to his questions. He looked over at the sleeping girl with a blank expression. She had just fallen asleep leaning against him…again he was annoyed at how innocent and trusting she was being towards him, despite what he'd been so clearly thinking of doing earlier that very same day.

Slowly he put down the book and picked up his tired sensei in his arms, carrying her back to the main house. She weighed damn near nothing and N made a note to feed her more…he hardly saw her eat anything. She always feeling him and her siblings but he never saw her eat anything herself; it worried him more than he was willing to say. Taking her back to the house and up the stairs to her room, N laid her on the bed gently.

He saw the white scarf in the pile of clothes that were in the corner of her room…cluttering it up. She had wanted to give him as much room as possible and had taken all the fun clothes she didn't want him having away. Alice must have taken the scarf because it upset him…slowly did he pick it up and wrap it around her neck, it was a thick white scarf and it almost hid her chin. He liked how she looked in it and with her innocent sleeping face it suited her even more. Everything was quiet and he planned to leave her asleep there on the bed for the night.

That was all it was meant to be, N only meant to set her down on the bed and leave again. But…as he put her on the bed and his green hair fell over his shoulder to touch the pillow that her head rest on, his eye caught her face, her lips in particular. She would not make the strange face he desired to see if she was asleep…however he couldn't seem to over look it.

N was uncertain of what he was feeling but ever so slowly did he lean forward on the bed. The frame gave a little creak as he put his weight on it, only accustom to the weight of one unfed girl. She looked more vulnerable than usual, her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly parted and N felt that it would be easy to take advantage of the dark haired girl. Gritting his teeth he ignored that thought and instead decided to just do…what he had originally wanted to try that day.

While Alice slept N pressed his lips to her own and without even knowing he had done it, he had stole her first kiss.

_….._

_Me: *Stares at Alice.*_

_Alice: *Blinks.*_

_Me: *STARES!*_

_Alice: WHAT DO YOU WANT!?_

_Me: How do you not know he is being sexual with you! IDIOT! IDIOT! *Hits her a few times then turns on the pervy N.* When I get my hands on you you're in big trouble to!_

_Both: *Flees.*_

_Me: That's what I thought! *There is actually a rapist Ghetsis behind her that she is completely unaware of.* :3_

_Alice: *Hiding from Ghetsis listening to the writers screams.* "Until next time review! ^^"_


	12. Chapter 12 Welcome My Fake Cousin

Authors Notes:

You know I am just NOT going to try and make excuses and I'll probably have to make excuses next time too…! SORRY!  
Having said that….HERE is my excuse. I lost EVERYTHING. I wrote two chapters and then POOF gone because the computer busted… T-T I only had the strength to go on because of a wonderful review I got… (The power of reviews my friends. :P)

Still this is 7,000 words long hopefully to make up for that.

Also I am struggling with the story just a little bit so ideas would be GREAT! (There's a shout out at the bottom as well so make sure to check it.)

With that said, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 12 Welcome my fake cousin.

Alice.

Oh dear….they were staring.

Oh dear god….they were just staring!

Standing there at the front gates of the school with N was horrible. He wore the private school uniform much better than she did, the jumper she had on was baggy and her clothes were rumpled everywhere while his was ironed and cleaned to perfection. Next to him she looked more slobbish than ever drawing more attention to the comparison between short sluggish girl and perfectly groomed new comer and if all that wasn't enough to turn heads….he still had that bright green hair!

N had refused to hide it or colour it in any way. He wasn't changing his hair and she didn't have the heart or power to make him do so. Despite her complaints he had worn his hair as he always did a green pony tail without the cap. She had at least been able to talk him out of wearing hit hat. She doubted anyone would coin him as N when he was in the school uniform but she was still getting jumpy just thinking of what might happen if they did. Worst case scenario she passed her 'cousin' off as a cosplayer and got teased for the rest of her life.

She didn't want that to happen but with the way everyone was staring at them as they entered the school…there wasn't much hope of going by unnoticed. Not only was he new, which in itself was something all but unheard of in this school that had your name on the list since before you were born….but his hair was still green!

"Yo, Sensei." N leaned over her shoulder as they walked along, hands in his pockets as he dealt with all this oddity easily, while she struggled just to move one foot in front of the other.

"Are you okay, you're walking like a robot." He poked her cheek probingly and she could tell he was teasing her again. "Are you nervous?" He asked, the cheery tone never leaving his voice.

"Absolutely not." *She replied in the most confident tone she could muster, with a stronger step forward she sped up the pace. Determination trumping the terrible butterfly feeling that cluttered up her stomach.

"Nothing to be scared about, this is totally normal! I do it every day don't I?" Her confident words might have been as see through as glass but she kept to them for now. One step in front of the other was the key and for the time being, her mantra.

This early in the morning she'd always head to the same place, this early in the morning she knew all her friends would be waiting in the designated spot. No matter what day it was, sunny, rainy, windy, they would always be down in their spot. Not once had they shifted from it that year. Every new year they'd meet up in a random place in the school just by seeking each other out and pick a new spot that became theirs for the rest of the year.

Usually the picking of this spot was loud and bossy between them all, Alice had a tendency to make demands and then only very silently steer them towards it, until she got her way. They never had trouble maintaining a spot but they were to particular about where it had to be.

Out of the rain, in the sun shine, away from certain circles, a place that they could be as loud as they wanted, a place they could be as silly as they wanted and somewhere they could see everything and others have trouble seeing them. That was the basic list and naturally they hardly ever found the likes of such a place. Just thinking about it gave her the biggest head ache.

"Where are you off to in such a rush? Have the classes started?" N was pestering her as they walked past people she did and did not know. Everywhere in the school her name was well known and she had no idea how stories of her passed from ear to ear. There was nothing interesting about her and she had a very small select group of friends and was rarely involved with outside of school activates…yet every stranger had her name in their mind. It was worrying.

Heading past the boys playing basket ball, past the kids getting ready to pass on the next generation of accidental children and disease, past the loudly laughing girls…into the building, up the stairs, past the prepping teachers and wandering students and to their room. Each morning they'd meet here…in this room. Alice stopped out front of the room staring at the door, a nervousness building in her chest as she stared at the door handle. Never before had she hesitated for so long.

Usually she'd stroll up and all but knock the door off its hinges with the speed and force she opened it. It announced her arrival and made it easy for those that wanted to talk to her speak up. On this day however she just stared at the door. She could feel N standing behind her, peering over her shoulder to read the bit of paper taped to the door. It had the picture of an angry face and the words

'If you ain't in get out.' Her friend group was small for a reason, the note was no doubt from her meaner friend. On the side of the note a little kitten sticker was stuck, no doubt from Rose.

The teachers must have just let it stay on the door because it was widely accepted that was their room. The school was strange, for certain people the rules would be bent and discipline tossed aside. They were not quite to that standard of control or if they were they didn't abuse it. Alice's hand trembled when she grasped the door handle, she was not only nervous but also incredibly excited. This was something new, something she had never considered happening before.

"Please put your hood up, I don't want your hair to cause too much of a disaster right off the bat." Waiting until N had done as she asked Alice steeled herself for the strange event that was about to occur. Closing her eyes she opened the door with the usual slam, for all the different reasons now. When she opened her eyes and raised her head she only just saw the flash of blonde hair before she was taken down to the floor.

"Ali-ce~~" Rose squealed in her ear, overjoyed to have her own personal tackle cushion home again.

"Oh Alice you worried me!" She was all but suffocating Alice under that death grip of hers, to make it worse she was all but pressing the other girl into her breasts. Alice could only fathom a little of embarrassment and defeat, all to use to being treated this way by her hyper active affectionate friend.

"You just leapt off the bus! I thought you'd gone mad. Wait don't tell me…! You saw your true love didn't you?" Suddenly Alice was away from her friends all too developed breasts and being shaken back and forth.

"You saw your true love and rushed off into the sunset to be with him forever didn't you? Oh but wait you're right here…hmm then it must mean that your love perished defending you from a black knight! Oh how tragic! Wait that can't be right, you should have shown your eternal love by perishing with him at your own hand with a knife through your heart…Hmm so he must have betrayed you with the likes of another woman! Oh my poor Alice!" …..What was she going on about…? Alice had no clue.

"Oh that can't be it either! If that was the case you'd be put away for murdering the two after catching them in the act…then….that must mean….you!" As suddenly as her friends onslaught of words and crushing death hug began it ended. Alice was left to collapse to the floor as the throttling force of her friends shaking was lost. Rose stalked right up to N and jabbed a perfectly painted nail into his face. "You must be the perpetrator!"

N, for once, looked as lost and confused as Alice. Rose's abuse didn't end there, with her arm outstretched and finger pointing accusingly she continued in her ranting.

"You're a prince from another land that showed up and swept the lowly usual girl off her feet!" Alice couldn't keep the scream in her throat, had they been found out already!? Impossible! Taking her scream as a yes Rose grinned and there was a wicked glint in those flawless blue eyes.

"Now you're living with her while she teaches you how to love in the ways only a peasant can! I am right aren't I!" Before Alice could start blurting out excuses a firm fist came down on top of Rose's head. She yelped and crumpled under the force of that fist.

"What nonsense are you shouting so early in the morning?" That voice was a relief despite its startling coldness. Turning her head to look towards the female that had struck her and the male that stood beside her Alice smiled as overwhelming relief took her. The two older people that stood there watching them were not of the usual sort, they almost looked deranged but still they brought about a happy feeling in her.

"Len, Tharja…" Alice murmured the two siblings names, the two looking at her with an equally blank expression. The sister and brother were twins with black hair and a certain taste for dark humour and silence. Alice liked to surround herself with colourful people and they might be described as the darker colours. While Rose and her constant smile and hair brain schemes were the brighter side.

"Wh-What's the big idea…? Don't hit me…Emi." Withdrawing her fist from Rose's head the black haired girl rubbed her fist gently, checking it over for damage. Rose on the other hand crouched down with both hands on top of her head making a whining sound of pain. Alice had to smile, it was so rare to see those three together. Emi and Len often skipped school, neither really having much interest in it as they were both already set up in their family company. What that company did…was always very dark and secretive, Alice dare not ask.

Rose was usually the only person to pay Alice any attention and while the attention was nice it was often crippling in the way of death hugs and elaborate ideas on what love was. While the twins had a love of dark things Rose had a certain obsession with love that would rival any romance novel writer or poet.

"Oi…what's all the commotion?" Another voice presented itself and when Alice looked she saw the last of her close friends, a boy her age with blonde hair. He looked at them all in surprise while pulling head phones from off the top of his head. He was the only teenager she knew to use full head phones anymore. He spotted her on the ground and shook his head, leaning down to offer his hand to her. "What are you doing… you clumsy girl." He scorned her for falling over, not knowing she had been pushed by Rose's fit on love.

"Axel…" Alice smiled in relief when she was pulled to her feet, the boy smiled slightly. Axel and Alice constantly had their ups and downs but he seemed to really be a good guy at heart. As usual Rose was immediately in on the situation, not liking her crush getting to close to Alice. Although everyone joked that Rose wanted to marry Alice, she knew her friends eyes were really on Axel.

The morning seemed to almost progress at its normal pace…that was until N suddenly came to life. As if knowing exactly how to get attention he walked over to her and took off his hood while pulling her away from Axel. Everyone stopped their chatting. The group Alice belonged to was not large but it did extend past her four best friends…the people that she didn't like so much took a terrible interest in N just as her friends did. N pulled her against him very suddenly and she had to struggle to keep an arms length away from him.

"Who's this?" Tharja asked in a expressionless voice, her brother and her were always playing on the creepy twin card…they just loved to haunt others nightmares with their zombie expressions and cursed twin routine.

"He looks kind freaky doesn't he?" Len continued for his sister, taking a wrapped candy and popping it into his mouth as he spoke in the same bored tone.

"His hair is dyed so strangely….what is something like that doing here?" Alice felt the nervousness return and the fear of being unmasked creeping back into place. N as usual was on the ball and wasn't about to let them fall into decay so soon in the day.

"My name is Nate." He said in a formal voice. "I am Alice's…" Before he was able to finish his explanation Rose went into ballistic mode again. Leaping up she pointed at him again, a determined expression in her gaze.

"You really are the prince! You must be magic, has he stolen your soul Alice my dear? I won't allow it. I won't, I won't, Alice is mine!" She demanded, cupping Alice's hands in her own with that terrified teary eyed expression. As usual Emi hit Rose on the head and dragged her away from her frantic story building mode. Rose's outburst was not for nothing though…it calmed Alice enough with the familiarity of it to take the reins.

"This is my cousin Nate. He is coming to school here after my uncle and aunt went travelling and couldn't home school him anymore." She gestured to N who remained silent for his introduction. Playing the cool and collected card in front of her friends.

"He hasn't gone t a real school before…so my uncle asked me to keep an eye on him. Please be nice to him everyone." She smiled but the first of the murmurs had begun. Even in their group there were people that weren't all that nice, the murmuring stopped immediately when Tharja turned to glare back at those responsible. No one questioned either of the twins…fear was a powerful tool that they equipped to the max. Alice took a steady breath and continued.

"Nate, this is Rose." She had to pry herself away from N so she could introduce her four best friends. First wheeling out Rose who still seemed to be in her own little fairy tale land of love. "She's my best friend. Rose, Nate. Please don't mind her over active imagination." Rose snapped out of her trance to look at N seriously.

"Don't even think about stealing my wife, male. I won't share with you!" She declared to him with a firm nod of her head before bouncing off to the side, understanding Alice wanted to introduce everyone to N, one at a time. Next Tharja and Len came up or rather Alice walked to them as they could not be bothered to shift in even the slightest to suit her.

"These two are the twins Len." The male with black hair rose his hand just slightly in a rather heartless greeting. "And Tharja Emiral, we just call Tharja, Emi." Tharja merely closed her eyes and gave a nod. "Excuse their silent nature, they won't be around much. The two of them are working mostly outside of school on their family run work." The two didn't seem offended by her explaining their work and behaviour, if anything they both seemed to grin at the mention of their 'nature.'

Before she could move on to the last of her friends he stepped out in front of her. Right before N. Axel was usually rather friendly but in this instant he seemed quite the opposite, eye to eye with N they just stared at each other.

"Uh…Right. Nate this is Axel, he's another good friend of mine. I'm sure you two will get along just fine." Even when she said that…Axel proved her completely wrong.

"Your hair is stupid." He said sharply leaning away from N again as a little shock of surprise ran up Alice's spine.

"It's a unnatural colour, change it back to normal before you cause someone trouble. Right N?" Alice might have died just then. Her face paled and she remembered very suddenly…Axel played Pokémon to. She had hoped he had not yet played black and white…but she knew for a fact he did nothing but game in his spare time. She should have known he'd suspect something.

"Don't give me nicknames without my permission." N's voice was equally cold towards Axel. "My name is Nate. Don't shorten it, it's fine just the way it is." N handled it with a little too much agitation in his voice but his hand done just that, handled it. Everyone else in the room had returned to their conversations, there was very little care for what happened to others when their own problems were on their mind. All but Alice's little group of close friends had continued on with life.

"Right. Sorry mate." As quickly as the stand-off began it came to an end and Axel turned away from N. Alice breathed a sigh of relief and just caught sight of N's smug grin before the bell blared in their ears…and the day of a thousand awkward moments began.

….

It didn't matter where they were in the school, N was the centre of attention. When class began and he was introduced there were lots of shouted comments, awkward silences and whispers. People in Alice's school were usually trained be to different to normal high school students but one couldn't fight against the tide of the mass media and image of high school boys and girls much. His green hair and strange behaviour made him the obvious centre of attention.

When asked a question or tossed an insult he always had the correct response and it quickly won over most of the school and made enemies of the rest. In a school like theirs word travelled quickly and every teacher and student had the strange boy with green hair on their mind and tongue. Alice was pushed aside, most of the time, she was not the one of interest. They students would ignore her when she sat next to N and only set their eyes on him.

On the odd occasion she was included in the madness they never had anything nice to ask or say. No one was openly hostile because most wanted to be in good favour with N and being mean to the only person close to him didn't seem like a good idea. However they always became more friendly when he said they were related, the girls would smile more sweetly and include her more…he was always a potential mate in their eyes. It was all she could do not to call them frivolous minded brats, being snappy wasn't going to get her anywhere fast.

Her uncle had made sure that they two of them were in the same classes, without her even knowing it her uncle had organised everything. Better than she could have ever hoped. When N finally showed her his time table she was horrified to see that that there were two classes different.

"You're taking cooking and crafts?" Alice was confused, why would he take those classes?

"Of course. I chose them." N offered little to no explanation about his choice, whenever she pestered him about it he'd become tight lipped and even go so far as to ignore her entirely. She was worried that he might get into trouble on his own. What if he burnt himself? Or someone tried to trick or bully him? Alice might not be the bravest girl…but…but! She wanted to be there to protect him from the terror that was high school.

It was only at recess that he finally broke and spoke about it a little more, ignoring the stares from those around them as they walked back towards the class room they'd occupied before school classes began.

"They were the only two that were not full. Also your uncle seemed hesitant to put us in every class together." He explained to her with a small frown on his face and Alice could only assume that meant her uncle didn't want his perfect little girl to be troubled by men. Sighing she could see Oscar foaming in rage over the very thought, the mental image made her smile and laugh. N who was oblivious to her thoughts just looked at her strangely.

"Will you be okay on your own?" Alice asked him and he merely turned to face the way they were walking with a small smile.

"Odd, I was going to ask you the exact same thing miss guide." Before she could be confused or insulted by that little comment he opened the sliding door and walked in. Again he was unaffected by the strange hush and then sudden burst of conversation that marked his arrival. Without another word he went and took his seat by the window, Alice sat down next to him. Producing two lunch boxes, one she handed to him and one that sat in front of her.

"That's not fair!" Suddenly a Rose had appeared in front of them, she was couching down at the fronts of their desk, fingers and eyes just visible as she peeked at them with an unamused expression.

"I want to taste Alice's cooking too…but Nate gets a whole lunch box to himself. I want, I want, I wan- mhpfh!" As quickly as her tantrum began a black substance was pushed into her mouth by a fork.

"That should suffice shouldn't it?" Emi asked bluntly still holding the fork that fed Rose. At first Alice was relieved but slowly Rose's face turned a sickly shade of green and she collapsed, heaving and coughing.

"R-Rose!" Alice stood up to look over the desk at her collapsed friend who still seemed to be struggling to breath. Tharja however only stared at the food she had made her eat with the same blank expressionless face. She held her lunch box up to her twin brother who inspected it next. When he gave a shrug she turned it to Alice and N. Alice all but jumped out of her flesh when she saw what lay in the box.

It was oily, black and still twitching. Alice recoiled from the unknown item of food. Tharja continued to stare at her, as if unable to put together what the problem was.

"It's a family recipe." She told Alice who was turning green just as the sight of the mystery food. "We eat it all the time, I assure you nothing is wrong with it." Even as she made that promise the food back a little twitch and writer…it was still moving! Alice shouted in alarm as Rose clung to her for dear life, the two girls looking at the monster food in terror.

"Emi…what type of food is that?" Axel asked over her shoulder, he too could see the terrible looking food for what it was, terrible.

"Special family secret. It promotes a long life and healthy blood." Len spoke in a similar bored tone to his sister, the two looking at them all with the same expression. To them the food was fine while it almost killed poor Rose.

"A-Alice…" Rose whimpered as she pressed closer to her equally terrified friend. "I think Tharja is trying to murder me!" The twins didn't even have the common sense to look innocent.

Alice didn't notice but N said nothing as he ate his food and she interacted with her friends. He would occasionally look over at them with a less than friendly expression, the only one who caught that look was Axel who was more than happy to return it.

Alice did not know it but N was silently seething and Axel was still suspicious of her 'cousin', if only Alice knew she might have been able to do something.

….

As the time drizzled on N didn't leave the spot light, not even for a single solitary second. His charm was turned on for the teachers and students and Alice could already see some of the girls beginning to lose their hearts to him. Was he really so dazzling? It only took one look at that charismatic smile to know that he really was. People were getting love struck, jealous and hate filled to quickly over him. That wasn't the only problem…N excelled in all he did.

In English he was perfectly well spoken, perfectly written and presented. In maths when called on he always had the right answer and always wrote the correct thing on the board.

He only began to struggle when it came to history and science. He did not know the history of her world nor the science that related so closely to it. However Alice was there with him to explain the basics, she spoke to him softly and wrote him notes to remember. History interested him but science was of much more use to him. They were studying evolution at school currently and she began to fear what it would do to his head.

Attentive and perfectly behaved he was still put on a pedestal by the teachers no matter how many, many questions his shot off. Most of the time she had to tell him to just ask her later instead of the teachers and after a while she noticed him taking down notes. Both of what he was learning and of what he wished to ask her later, seeing as the subject was evolution, she would have to explain the process between animals today and thousands of years ago. Hopefully she could just relate it to how pokemon evolved…with the time in between much, much longer.

Ignoring those two classes however N was the godly student that teachers could only dream of. When it finally came for them to split into a girls group and boys group for PE….that began to shine through even more. That day they were told they'd be doing basketball, N who had never struck Alice as the athletic type had been a cause for worry in her eyes.

What if one of the bigger boys pushed him down? Or they ganged up on him? She was so relieved when she heard that they'd be playing with the boy's basket-ball team as well. Even if she was too small to stop him from being pummelled she could at least get pummelled in his place.

Heading down to the basket ball courts she saw a familiar face, she'd been put in with Tharja and Len's class for this activity. They siblings were leaning against the mess of the fence and away from where any sunlight or smiling faces might reach them. When she approached them she noticed they were talking quietly to each other and stopped when she approached them.

They did not smile but acknowledging her existence was welcome enough from them and of course they were not joining in with the festivities of basket ball. No teacher moved to question it, fear could strike even the most hardened adults.

"Here to watch your cousin?" Len asked in that dead pan voice of his, tipping his head to the side as a little stick of a lolly pop protruded from his lips. "Don't you think doting on such a popular boy is sad?" She tried not to be too offended by that, tried being the key word.

"I am only trying to look after him, he is new after all and he's never been to school before so I feel obligated to look after family." That got the two to react at least a little, they glanced to each other and then back to her.

"Playing the kin card is he?" Tharja asked whilst tipping her head to the other side as her brother did, it was lucky their fear factor was almost wasted on Alice.

"Dirty player….he doesn't seem to need help." Lifting one pale hand she pointed to the court where a game had begun without her. Turning to follow her pointing she saw N…oh.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sight. N's hair was tied higher than usual for sport and he had changed into the sport uniform required, standing in the middle of the court he looked like a man on a mission. Did he even know how to play this game?

The whistle blew and N took off like a rocket, his speed was surprising to Alice and the players alike. Within moments he had stolen the ball and was in the process of taking it all the way to the other side of the field while the others recovered from the shock of their new player being so ferocious.

Weaving past other players he made it to the other side of the field and in the next moment he made a shot and without even touching the sides of the rings…it went in. N paused before straightening himself up and she could see a beaming smile on his face, it faltered from a moment and he turned to look at her as if feeling her gaze. He looked surprised for a moment but then he grinned at her and waved enthusiastically. Much like on the beach he wanted to show her what he could do…he was always striving to impress her and everyone around him at every twist and turn.

His team mates applauded him and the opposition seethed while trying to figure out how to tackle a new threat. The girls who were still being sorted into teams were either overly excited or making up excuses not to get their hands dirty. Alice couldn't stand around any longer she had to get in there and play too! The moment she began to run towards the field Tharja's hand grasped her arm making her stop and look at her.

"You're going to play that filthy game?" She asked, looking annoyed that she was going. "Why not stay here in the shade and watch with us." Tharja didn't like being ignored, she didn't like sunlight or physical activity either...but she did like it when Alice and the others stayed with them in the shadows.

Just then however a ball hit Tharja's head gently. Axel caught the ball on the rebound and smiled smugly. Tharja seemed to radiate a silent rage, one her brother seemed to enjoy thoroughly until the same ball assaulted him.

"You two couldn't catch a ball if your life depended on it, let alone win a basket ball game." Axel claimed, riling the two up as best he could. With the two now creeping the hell out of Alice with their cold aura she took that chance to escape into the game. Axel following after her with the twins stalking behind, there was one thing they wouldn't stand for…that was a challenge. Just like that Axel had drawn the two into the game.

Alice, Tharja were on the court opposite N's own court with the girls while Len and Axel were on N's court. They all played separate games and yet Alice would occasionally glance over at N, just to check on him. Every time she looked he was doing brilliantly, easily scoring point after point. Alice decided she had to catch up to him and so she gave that basket ball game her all, pairing up with Tharja wasn't easy but she was always in the right spot when she was needed…yet Alice hardly saw her move. Tharja was scary…

By the end of the first round Alice had scored three points and was exhausted, her legs ached and her chest burned…but it was fun and she was grinning the whole time. She even noticed Tharja panting just slightly and smiling even more slightly.

Heaven forbid a cursed twin would actually smile in the light.

The girl's game took a break just as the boys started again, Alice looked for N, seeing he was exerting himself. His chest was heaving slightly and she even saw a bit of sweat glistening on his brow, she caught herself staring and so did he.

He smiled at her and she turned away, embarrassed he'd seen her staring at him. She wasn't doing anything wrong but it felt like she was stalking him if she stared to long. Sitting against the fence with Tharja they watched the boy's game continue. Much like his sister Len was always in the right spot and Alice never saw him move, Axel was skilled and very easily stole the ball….but N was skilled as well and that had to be evened out.

The teacher made them swap teams, now they were against each other and Alice saw nothing wrong with that. It was only for fun after all. Just as she thought about that she noticed another player enter the game. Taking the hoddie off Alice saw the familiar black hair and lazy grin…her childhood friend was playing? That was out of character for him and seeing him around made her wonder if Camilla was hanging around somewhere too. If Tharja noticed how uncomfortable she had become she didn't voice it.

He talked to the coach and N and Axel were put on the same team again as if the appearance of the black haired bully changed things, come to think of it Alice couldn't remember if he was good at this game or not.

The game started up again and she found out he was really, really good. He scored a point faster than N had and just like that a spark that had been in the game burst into a brilliantly frightening flame. N and Axel were good but that boy might just be better and Alice caught the expression of rage on N's face when he lost the ball to him a second time…why had the atmosphere changed so much? Alice felt uncomfortable.

Then it just got worse…

N had finally gotten the ball again and was going to shoot when Axel got in the road. It looked like he had been pushed into the path and knocked N off balance. He lost the ball and the other boy stole it right out from under them. N tumbled over and Axel staggered to get his footing again, looking at N he offered his hand only to have it rejected as N pushed himself up off the ground and stalked towards the ball. That determination was something Alice would occasionally see, now more than ever.

Axel scowled after N but continued the game all the same, Alice watched intently as they passed the ball between each other…so they couldn't have been angry about the tumble, that was a relief. However they were starting to lose thanks to the new arrival, things were getting slowly worse and the tension followed suit. Until finally it reached a tipping point.

Luckily just then the teacher came up to the remaining girls and offered from them to take a few of the boys places, it looked like some of them were tired and being as she was Alice wanted to get into the game and prove herself a little more. Tharja waved her off, wanting her to have fun on her own. Alice was put on the opposite team to N and Axel however and having to stand so close to that bully unnerved her.

The game continued how it should have without a hitch though the tension was still there, Alice could hardly get in with how fast N and Axel passed the ball, and she didn't even think they'd noticed her in the game.

Finally she saw an opening for the ball and she was able to grasp it as the bully himself tossed it her way, for a moment she beamed. She noticed a flash of green hair besides, her N no doubt aiming the nick the ball off of her.

She wasn't as fast as N but she was smaller and just able to weave the ball away from his experienced hands, catching a frustrated look on his face as she passed him. Everything was going well but as she went for the goal but something caught her eye….N was falling! In a snap decision she forgot he ball and moved to catch N as he fell. Her arms connected with his shoulders and she managed to stop his fall.

He regained his own footing and she saw relief but then…something tripped her. Stumbling over her own feet she fell awkwardly on her wrist, twisting it. She let out a sharp cry of pain and the game came to a standstill, people looking at her with wide eyes as she seemed to genuinely injure herself.

And the flame that had once showed signs of a competitive game suddenly became a hazardous fire. N was standing close to her and the first accusation came from none other than Axel.

"What the fuck was that!?" He shouted, running over to N. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt and hoisting him up sharply. "What do you think you were doing?" He demanded giving N a little shake. "You tripped her!"

Suddenly Tharja was by her side, when she got there Alice wasn't sure but she was holding her arm gently with her freezing cold hands. Alice could see it swelling slightly…it hurt more than she cared to say and keeping tears out of her eyes was no easy task.

"I did not." N growled lowly at Axel, thrusting him from his sharply, the two locking in a death stare. Off the side Alice noticed her childhood friend watching the scene with amused eyes.

"Bullshit." Axel spat at N. "What type of cousin are you? What type of person are you? You tripped her on purpose! You stole the ball from me as well and cost me a goal." All the bitterness came flowing out and Alice swore that Axel was going to take a swing at N. The teacher's cries for them to cool off went unnoticed by the two boys. "You're not a team player at all!" Len had appeared between the two men trying to break up the situation but even his attempts were getting them nowhere fast.

Now N's hands were clenched and his jaw tight, Alice could only stare as the two made the situation worse and worse. Suddenly Alice thought of his childhood, surely he'd never had the chance to learn let alone play with other people. She got a black and white image of a worn basket ball with his name on it….that had been in his room hadn't it? For a moment she swore she had blacked out, she could see N sitting in a large room full of toys on his own.

No one else was there to play with him or praise him as he shot goal after goal in his room. After a moment he stood still and let the ball roll past his feet…then he collapsed to his knees and cried. He had all the toys and comforts a child would need…all but one, he never had a friend to play with and as the tears dripped from his eyes onto the ground Alice felt her heart break. Coming back from the sudden image that must have been her imagination Alice thrust herself off the ground ignoring Tharja's attempts to stop her and ran between the two.

Throwing her arms out to the sides between them she stood incredibly still as they took notice of her.

"What are you doing…?" She whispered angrily. "You're on the same team! Why are you fighting like this? It was an accident, I'm fine so please just keep playing happily. Don't fight!" N and Axel both stopped in their argument, looking at the tiny girl that stood between them, even Len looked a little thrown off.

"You two…only just met you shouldn't be fighting at all."

Off the side the bully turned and left, having seen enough of this. Grinding his teeth together Axel gathered up his braid and tossed it off, stalking out of the court. Leaving Alice to wonder if he had heard her at all. A moment later N approached her, took one look at her swelling hand and ran off. He to left without a word and Alice was left to be taken by Tharja and Len to the office for some ice…her uncle just had to be at the office at that time….wonderful.

….

N

"You." When spoken to the boy that had come in late in the game turned to face N, a smug grin on his face made N angry. He wanted to hurt the boy.

"What is it freaky boy? Shouldn't you be getting in trouble for tripping that poor girl?" He asked, all too confident and all to content with his own handy work."

"You pushed me." N muttered darkly, he had run off the court to chase this male…he wasn't going to let this slide by. Glaring at the male he couldn't get the image of Alice's swelling wrist from his mind…had he really caused her to become so hurt? The thought made his head hurt…he hated it and he hated the boy who had shoved him and claimed such a result. At his accusation the male only grinned more widely.

"Guilty as charged." There was not a hint of shame nor an attempt to cover up what he had done. In fact the longer N stared at him the more pleased the boy seemed.

"Why? You're still bothering her and now you're bothering me." N's voice could not get any colder and his fists could not be clenched any firmer. "What would you gain from shoving me like that?"

"Call it a whim." Chuckling he turned away from N pausing to speak to him over his shoulder.

"Still…I only pushed you; you're the one that took that girl to the ground. Later freaky." With that the black haired male turned and left.

N did not follow him, he did not wish to follow him. All N could think was how red and swollen Alice's wrist had become and how all too familiar it was to the swelling that occurred after his father's rage would best him.

And no matter who pushed him…N had still caused it.

…

Me: "So what do you think of my OC people? Don't worry…I will try not to add anymore. Promise, promise! (….They aren't too bad are they? AH! Am I making a huge mistake!? AHHH! I am having so many problems with the story right now! ARG! HELPS! I need ideas and such! Where is N!?"

Alice: *Points off the corner where he is sulking, having his own mushroom circle again.*

Me: "At the very least he shouldn't grow mushrooms in my house…" *Eye twitch.*

Alice: *Tugs on the writer's shirt.* "Don't forget that shout out…"

Me: "AH! Of course! I get lots of wonderful reviews and I PROMISE I read and love them all….should I be replying to them? I will gladly if that's what I am meant to do…however I got one that gave me a lot of feed-back and encouraged me to write this whole chapter in ONE day! See what happens when I read AWSOME reviews! So thank you so much to  
Please leave more reviews I won't ask for one that long again because that's unreasonable but I love to hear from you! :D I want to write this story and not let it die so ideas and encouragement are great. Okay until next time Ja!"


	13. Chapter 13 My Good For Nothing Ward

Authors Note:

MUSIC! If you want to enjoy this chapter properly you NEED to listen to sad music for almost all of it. Yes this is a SAD chapter! SAAAAD! MUSIIIC!  
*Nods.* Okay…continue and enjoy!

(Songs used: Shippuden OST Utsusemi and a few others I forgot…that should give you a general idea though! :p )

…

Chapter 13 My Good For Nothing Ward.

Ghetsis

"You are you tell me that my son has been sent to another world?" The great sage could scarcely believe what he was being told. However there was no doubting what Colress said was the truth. The scientist had no reason to lie and as much as Ghetsis loath to admit he was hardly ever proven to be wrong. Standing before him the blonde male adjusted his glasses while staring down at an illuminated screen.

"Indeed…" He murmured gravely. "Such a feat, I believed far beyond any human or pokemon's abilities but that was foolish of me." He admitted with a small shake of his head, the blue strand of hair waving as he did. "It was already known that the pokemon Giritina was able to pass between dimensions unaffected by time or space. It most often passed between this land and another mirror dimension, but that dimension was a barren land and N is not there. I have gotten one of the trackers working, at least to the last known moments in this world. He indeed travelled to other lands to visit various pokemon. His last location was in a place called Hall of Origin."

"Arceus?" The name of the godly pokemon rest on the sage's tongue with a bitter taste. N had stumbled upon one of the single most powerful pokemon in their world. "That pokemon resides in the Sinnoh region, he has travelled that far?" Ghetsis had heard tale of the great pokemon that lay there. Dialga, the time legendary. Palkia, the space legendary. Giritina the dimensional legendary…and Acreus, the godly legendary. Thoughts of such outstanding pokemon made the sage all but quiver with excitement. Using them would be outstanding.

"Then he vanishes from the maps. That was the last place he travelled to and I believe he did go in search of Arceus."Ghetsis could feel the anger building up inside of his chest, his pathetic son had run off in search of a pokemon such as that? Without his permission no less! Sighing heavily the agitation he felt reflected in his tone and Colress rose to look at the sage who seated himself so comfortably on the throne.

"As regrettable as it all is there is some good to come of this. I believe that the feat may be replicated through familiar means." Ghetsis did look at the scientist, silently demanding him to continue. Clearing his throat he flicked through his notes again.  
"Through the use of Kyurem we may be able to not only replicate the event but sustain and control it to some degree. This world that our king has travelled to could become opened to us." The sage would be deemed a liar if he were to claim the idea did not at the very least spark and interest in him.

"See that it's done. As usual you shall have the assistance you require." Satisfied Colress left the room with a smile and left Ghetsis to his thoughts. Leaning back in his throne he thought about how long the boy had been gone, weeks had become months and people were starting to ask for their king. The rebels were beginning to stir and he required N back in place to calm things…however his plans seemed to be changing around what had come about.

N had been dropped into an unknown land, if that land should prove to be barren it was all but useless but if it proved to be somewhere with something more powerful he'd be able to fashion a new tool and further conquer this land. He still felt the bitterness as sharp as a knife when he thought of his son's disgraceful behaviour just before he left. Moping and groaning day in and out, locked in his room to re-think his existence; it damn near drove the sage to the end of his rope. Only his perfect restrain had stopped him from throttling the boy.

Thinking back on it now he could understand just how useful N could really be.  
"All those years of protecting him from the outside world and shaping him into a shinning tool may not have proved futile. His childish spat after claiming the elite four might have been unideal at the time but it has lead to this. Finally that tainted boy is useful." Chuckling he stood from his chair, no servants were with him but he knew of a particular servant he wished to visit.

All she did was be the bearer of bad news and now he was going to see the inside of his bed chambers. Shooting the messenger always made for good target practice did it not? That poor girl.

…..

Opening her eyes slightly Alice stared at the sunlight that broke through the old dusty curtains and into the sterile white room. The sick bay was rather lifeless and she had no particular love for it, only that she often ended up here and there was always soothing ice to be found for new bumps and bruises.

Today however she had a particular distaste for the empty room and uncomfortable chairs with things that posed as pillows but were more like some sort of paper bag. Tharja and Len had walked her up here, getting angry with her every time she attempted to tell them she was okay and wanted to go back to class. Neither spoke but they'd give her that icy stare and Emi would squeeze her arm in a painful manner. They had a funny way of showing affection.

The lady in the office was always kind natured and concerned with her being here so often after tripping and hurting herself. Half the time it was her own fault, like today and the other half of the time was Camilla's doing. Pushing into walls, thrown books, general pinches and punches. She had her very own high school bully.

"Would you like me to call your parents?" She asked her like clockwork, every time Alice appeared in the office it was always that question. She'd smile and shake her head.

"I'll be fine, don't worry them. I want to go back to class." She'd say and wait for her to give her that worried look then vanish out the door, holding the phone she always wanted Alice to use to her chest. Sighing Alice would stare out the window, watching the dust float in the sun rays.

After all…who would they even worry? Her parents weren't ever at home and they had no set work place, it was likely they weren't even in the country anymore. Work took them far away and mobiles were all but a foreign concept to them. It was just Alice and her two brothers in that house most nights so there wasn't any point in calling her whimsical mother and father.

Since they went away on that last business trip they'd called to say they were going to be a little longer. Some sort of special opportunity, Alice wasn't sad though. She couldn't ever be sad when they were so excited and so happy, so Alice should be happy to. That's what she thought.

Time had passed by so quickly now, it was already time for school to be let out and the second that bell rang she was out the door. The workers in the school office not even getting a chance to ask about her wrist that had been helped greatly by some ice. It was not broken or sprained, just a nasty twist she'd be feeling the effects of for some time, not enough to hinder her greatly though. That was enough for her to go on and once the shrill cry of the bell had filled her ears she knew exactly where she was going.

Racing up towards the bus loading zone she could see lots of student getting on busses and steaming out of school. She knew Rose would be waiting for her up there and once she was on the bus to head home she'd find N for sure. Just as she got out of the school gate however a hand closed around her injured wrist and yanked her back into the bushes. Giving a cry of pain at the sharp tug on the twisted area she bit back tears and was surprised by the appearance of her bully.

"H-Hunter! What do you want?" She demanded, trying to tug her arm away but only managing to injure herself more and make another sound of pain.

"Cool yourself Ali." Speaking softly to her he covered her mouth with his other hand just as she saw a pair of high heels strut past the bush he had pulled her into. Only one idiot would wear shoes that high to school and get away with it, Camilla. She looked up questioningly at the black haired boy who merely smirked with a shrug and released her.

"Thanks." Speaking coldly she gathered up her belongings planning to flee the scene again but was stopped yet again by the male. Getting far too close to her he began to say things that bugged her.

"Where are you going? Back home to your violent cousin? Don't you think it best to just send him back to where he came from." Hunter asked her in a deadly quiet voice. "He won't fit in and he's just going to hinder you every step of the way until he's finally done with you and no longer requires your help. You'll be tossed aside he'll let you fall down like a worthless pile of trash!" Pausing he smiled before continuing. "After all…he is a freak."

_SNAP_

"What would you know…" Alice's hand was doing a lot of slapping these past few days. "About Nate?! How dare someone like you talk about him like that." She shouted at him, shoving her tiny hands against his chest, despite her twisted wrist she didn't pause to acknowledge the pain that shot up her offending limb.

"Someone like you shouldn't ever talk about him. Nate is important to me so don't you dare slander him. You bloody bully!" He looked shocked by the sudden violent reaction and she didn't give him a moment to regain himself. Grabbing her things hastily she leapt out of the bushes.

Just in time to see her bus driving off…

It rounded a corner and she was left staring after it…then she ran. Running as fast as her legs could carry her she bolted down familiar roads and bends, tears still budding at the corners of her eyes. It wasn't because her wrist hurt or because she had missed the bus…it was because Hunter's words were some she had already thought of herself.

Once N understood this world…would he leave her behind? Would he eventually return to his own world? She didn't know…she was afraid. Her running continued, her home was back out in the bush but not too far away. She had walked there with N and now she was running there alone. Her legs were starting to burn and that sickening feeling grew in her stomach, threatening to have her lose all the contents of that lovely lunch if she pushed herself any harder.

But she ignored it, continuing to run. N had left earlier that day, he had been so angry…and Alice didn't know where he had been going. She had to go and find him, to tell him everything was okay that she wasn't hurt that she wasn't angry and he could relax. She finally found her way back to the house, the first thing she did was throw open the door to his rented home. Then she collapsed to her knees, gagging on her own breathing.

Her body screamed all sorts of nasty words at her, furious for the abuse it had just been put through. It took all her strength not to let her legs turn to jelly on her again. Pushing onwards she opened the hatch to N's little attic room…but it lacked one thing.

N.

Looking around she couldn't see him anywhere and her chest began to tighten up…where was he? Had he really just run away? Unable to accept that she dropped from the ladder and again took off running. Just as Vincent and Elliot were getting off their bus, she ran past her two confused brothers, shouting back a random excuse about exercise and nothing being wrong.

Alice continued to run as the sun light began to vanish and turn to an orange glow. She ran to the bird cage that they had visited, he wasn't there. Only the last of a few birds remained squawking on the silver iron cage, closing her eyes tightly she took off once more. The ache in her legs becoming nothing more than an annoyance as the fear that N had vanished completely grew inside of her more and more.

Speeding on she collapsed once or twice, hacking and coughing on her own air intake before clumsily struggling on again. She found herself at the shopping centre they had visited together…but it was closed. The cleaners working on the bins and clearing away the rubbish left by various visitors.

Closing her eyes she turned and continued to run, there was only one place left they had visited together and it was a long run…still she ran as fast as she could. She hoped against hope that he would be there, waiting on the sea side hill to smile at her and ask her some more about sharks. It took her a long time but she did indeed arrived at that place on the beach he had saved her from Camilla…she collapsed a fifth time, her hands and knees falling onto the grassy ground before her as tears dribbled past her nose and onto the ground under her palms.

It hurt…her chest hurt. Her fingers clutched at the fabric where her heart was and she bowed her head. Her breathing was shallow and forced, her legs cut and bruised from where she had fallen so many times. She felt like she was going to be sick…but instead of that she just kept crying. Was this what it would feel like? When N eventually vanished? Taking all of the light and hope with him…leaving her on her own to look after her brothers and fake smiles for her parents who were never there to see them.

"I'm not sad…" She whispered softly to herself, staring at the ground as more tears hit it. "I'm not sad at all…why would I ever bed sad? It doesn't hurt…it really doesn't…" That gripping hand tightened more so, words didn't stop the lump in her throat from choking her or the vice around her heart tightening.

"There's nothing wrong with me life!" Alice all but shouted it this time, shouting to herself, voice broken on tears. "I know that. My life is perfect…I am not gravely ill…I am not homeless or starving. We have a big house and money for pretty clothes and toys, I've never had to fight to survive and I know lots of people. Even if my parents are away they are still alive and I have two very cute siblings…! So why…does it hurt so terribly…?" Hiccupping she covered her mouth tightly, tears running between her fingers.

"Without N…there's not a shred of hope left that I can escape this…" His bright smile entered her mind, the way he waved to her when he was proud of himself or wanted her attention. When he'd call her sensei or miss guide and torment her to the point of flustered shouting….even when he was scary or acted strangely, all of it was something out of the ordinary. Into a world she could only admire from afar.

For the longest time she lay there, knowing she was greedy and selfish for wanting something she had no claim to, for wanting something that she didn't deserve. For the longest time Alice cried on her own, she was terribly use to that already. She knew that the things she felt hurt over were pathetic, the things she cried over were self-absorbed and petty…she knew that and yet….it was like this.

"I'm a bad girl…" She whispered softly to herself over the distant roar of an ocean filled with water as salty as her tears, she closed her tear filled eyes and could no longer move.

… (Some time later, still Alice.)

The sun was vanishing behind the horizon and Alice was still stumbling home. Her eyes were red and her nose was only just becoming unblocked. Her legs finally unable to run were pathetic in dragging her home, the sky was turning a dark purple by the time she finally opened the door to her big empty house.

Her brothers ran to her, asking about her exercise. She smiled and said she tripped a bit so she gave up and came home. Vincent fret over the cuts and already forming bruises while Elliot looked for some bandaids. They were both doing their best to pull her away from the kitchen and Elliot even went so far as to barricade it with his body…odd boy. She waved them both off and wandered up the stairs to her room. The one window in her room allowed light to flow across her bed and onto the carpet.

Alice was staring at the ground as when the door finally shut behind her…she again fell. Falling to the ground of her room she sat there, hands on her knees and head angled towards the ground. Whispering a small phrase to herself as tears filled her eyes again.  
"I'm not sad at all…."

….then her bed creaked softly.

Looking up suddenly she saw the usual green hair and soft features that belonged to N. He stood from her bed and walked over to her, standing before her in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then ever so slowly…he knelt down on one knee and reached towards her. His arms wrapping around her shoulders gently as he pulled her against him.

He said nothing as he held her, his arms were warm and soft against her body. With wide eyes she stared off into space…shocked that he was there at all…and then she began to cry again. Her shaking arms coming up to clutch his shirt tightly. She could smell something odd on him…it almost smelt something like burnt meat and egg…? Such an odd smell…mixed in with his usual scent.

"I'm sorry…" Quietly whispered words were spoken to her as he embraced her a little more tightly. "I am sorry. Alice." She buried her face into his chest as silent tears stained her face, N was here…still here. She was so relieved and that was why the tears didn't stop flowing down her cheeks.

Otherwise he was silent as she would occasionally let a little hiccup slide past her defences, the silence was more comforting than his words would have been. Before she knew it…she had fallen asleep with tears still in her eyes.

…..

N

Returning to her house had been easy…he knew the way and Rose had all but dragged him onto the bus. She fired off a million questions about how her friend was and N found himself becoming annoyed with the girl. She chattered away about Alice over and over again like they were…like they were…._best friends._

N felt bitter about that…best friends? Shouldn't he hold that position? When he thought back on how she had fallen because of him…he felt a little less hopeful in the best friend department. When he got off the bus and returned to his home he paused to look towards her house.

He had not seen her on the bus so he figured that she had stayed at that medical station. He paused at his own home, hand resting on the door handle for a moment before he turned and briskly walked across the street and into her house. The spare key was just here she'd said it would be….under the fake cat. He stopped to peer at the cat for a moment, it was much like the fake pokemon toys they got at home.

The school day hadn't been all that bad at first, the classes were painfully easy aside from Historical studies and Science, and Colress would have loved those studies….just thinking about Colress made N's nose screw up in disgust. He would indeed _love _the science here. Still they had an interesting concept on animals…they didn't all lay eggs and could only breed within certain boundaries, N didn't quiet grasp the concept yet.

Opening the door he crept inside, not a living thing in sight. Even the dog was not there. He again wondered about the canine animal…was it truly happy here? He brushed the thought aside for the time being and walked up stairs to his guide's room…she wasn't there. He frowned, knowing she was probably still at the medical bay but he had hoped she might already have arrived back home safe and sound.

He hadn't gotten a good look around the room in his most recent visit and took this chance to do just that. There were little pokemon hints scattered all over the place. A toy there, a poster here…all just subtle little hints, books and games stacked up. She really must have adored them even from her strange position of not being able to see them. A sudden sad feeling struck him, his sensei had never seen a real pokemon. Pondering this he shook his head, it was unacceptable!

"That just won't do! I'll show her a real pokemon one day. I'll find her the closest Eevee and I just know she'll love it to bits." N had no idea how such a feat would be accomplished but he had his hopes that when he returned home…she might just come with him. Actually he hadn't considered it before now…but what if his guide were to come along with him? Would he teach her all about his word as she was hers, perhaps she'd abandon her ideas on trainers and help him build the ideal world?

However…there was the problem of her family, he doubted she'd come away from it all…but she didn't need them surely! Her friends were only distracting her from him and one of her brothers was just a sneaky little rat while her parents were never there. Pausing on that thought he realised she had forgotten to take that book with her today.

He had noticed her writing in it every now and then and against every gentlemanly bone in his body he picked it up and opened it and began to read it from the first page he happened to flick on.

_~I have a normal life.  
My name is Alice, I am a girl, and my name is Alicia Orish Mau.  
I go to high school every day, I am a normal girl without any amazing physical interests, and I have no amazing talents or adventures to go one. Normal.  
Funny about that most people do have normal lives so I probably shouldn't be surprised that I do also.  
Today was especially normal, I went to school today. I got there ten minutes before the bell.  
After that I went to my English class, Freddy was hitting on Macie again and I don't think she liked it very much, she kept squirming. Must have been his cheesy jokes.  
Lora cut her finger in cooking today, the blood was all over the table, it must have been deep. I wonder if she is alright now.  
My PE teacher was looking at me funny again today; he looks funny at all the girls. He is still fairly young...a bit too young to be a paedophile but he still is.  
Class 3A smelt off again today, the class before us must be rather stinky.  
Camellia and her friends talked to me again today, today they used a metaphor about me, and I don't think they knew it was that though. They were just saying cruel things. They used a book to hit me today, last time it was a ruler. I like the ruler better I think.  
I have to remember to finish off my maths work, I can't come home with another B or mother will be angry.  
I forgot to turn off my DS today, I hope that it doesn't run out of charge before I save it. My Eevee is close to evolving so I got to save it quickly.  
The buss I am on right now is really loud, people are chatting.  
I think that Rose is trying to talk to me right now so I should speak to her.~_

~I wonder just what I should make for dinner...it has to be something simple, it's just me tonight after all.  
I'm going to be alone in the house again, I suppose that is good, I can keep the lights off.~

~Back at home I got an Eevee waiting for me, he is the sweetest little thing...I wonder what evolution he will want.  
Before I got on the bus to go home someone tried to throw my bag under the bus, lucky they were such an awful shot.  
The trees are such a nice green colour aren't they...Just like that person's hair is...hair...?~

N realised this was written the day they met…he became incredibly interested in what came after it.

_~I met N today. I don't know if he's real or if I've gone insane…but I am terribly excited. I want to show him all sorts of things and keep him close by my side.  
I wonder what type of game I should show him first? Actually truth be told I am struggling to remember anything about black and white, it's a little strange.  
He made a mess and my parents thought he was doing something indecent! As if N would ever do such a thing, it's unthinkable.~_

"Miss Guide…you're giving me far too much credit." N muttered softly, she trusted him so blindly it was a little frightening to think about at times. Shaking off the thought he continued to read, seating himself on the bed as he flicked through what must have been her diary.

_~Still…he loves my cooking I am glad, I will take him out to see some wonderful things this weekend! Mother and father are away of course so it won't be hard.~_

_~N really loves the animals here! They love him too, the birds flocked to him and the dolphins would play with him. I wished I could have joined him…but my fear of water….I can't swim at all. It's depressing really but I never got taught how to swim, I mean mother and father were too busy for that!  
I should give Vince and Elliot a few more lessons, don't want them turning out as useless as me.~_

N couldn't help but frown at that part, she was oblivious, not useless….were females always that happy to put themselves down? He'd have to teach her a thing or two about that later.

_~Shopping is hell! But….I am actually really happy. He was looking at this scarf, so I bought it for him! I hope it makes him happy.~  
~N is angry…he really didn't want the scarf but…I still wanted to buy it for him. I wonder why it upset him so much…could it be that anything white reminds him of Touko? I wonder…what happened? N can't remember any more than I can…I am worried. Tomorrow is his first day of school, I don't want him to see me writing notes on his behaviour so I'll leave this home tomorrow.~_

That was all that was written but he slowly became interested to what was behind that. What would she write about other than him he wondered. So he flicked to the front of the book, it was impossible to read the first few pages, her scribbling was childish as if she were only five when she began writing.

As he flicked to much more comprehendible writings he found that was indeed the case or at the very least very close to five.

_~I am nine years old today! YAY!~_

N smiled faintly at that silly version of his guide and continued to read.

_~*Scribble* gave me this book! Isn't it just so wonderful? Camilla say's it's a lame gift but I love it, she likes it too I think. She's funny. *Scribble*~_

That's all he could make out on one page…really her hand writing at nine years of age was nothing short of appalling, he had perfect writing by that point in his life.

_~Camilla's birthday is today, I bought her a pretty red bow. She loves it, she hugged me and all. I am happy she liked it so much.~_

N was a little confused…had that girl that had been treating her so badly been her friend? N was clever and understood many things but…friendship was not one of them. Was it okay to do that to a friend?

_~Daddy said he'd take me to the zoo today! I want to see all the animals so I'm very excited! Just you wait, I'll be the best trainer yet.~_

_~So….daddy was working today, Mother was also busy. That's okay though…Vince and Elliot tried to make me a mud cake while I baby sat them. They're very sweet and well behaved, Elliot can be a handful…but…I don't mind. I'll have lots of other birthdays to spend at the zoo.~_

Alice had mentioned a zoo once before he was sure…but he couldn't quiet remember it. All he knew was it involved animals, all they ever spoke about was animals, pokemon and the difference between worlds so it was strange to be reading this that had very little to do with it.

_~Camilla pushed me over today, it's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong…she was just really angry today, I'm sure she'll be my friend again tomorrow. She's just a little cranky that's all. Rose picked me some flowers, I had to pretend I didn't like pretty things…but she's so nice, she made me a flower crown anyway.~_

A flower crown? N suddenly felt the urge to make one as well…he would demand the same praise that the girl got.

_~Rose is coming for a sleep over! I'm excited! Excited! YAY!"_

_~Rose is really happy, she's really lots of fun and she loves my baby brothers, I am happy she's my friend…she's my best friend but I won't tell her that. Yay.~_

Best friends!? N wasn't all that keen but he steeled himself and read on…it suddenly took a strange turn.

_~Mother and father are staying home this weekend! They said they were going to play with us. I can't wait, maybe I can finally go to the zoo? My birthday's in a week from now but I know they are leaving for a few days so…I can't go on my birthday. But maybe before?~_

_~So…mother and father can't stay, Vincent is sick so they are taking him to get some treatment. I'm so worried about him so it'd be wrong of me to be sad about the zoo. There's always next year.~_

N began flicking pages, skipping lots and lots of things…but every page he turned to something worse lay there with the occasional happy note that seemed harder and harder to find.

_~We got a puppy! Oh he's so cute and lovely! I love him, I love him, I love him! I'm going to name him Hewie! My precious Hewie.~_

_~Hunter won't play with me anymore, he says I'm annoying. I don't mind, he's a boy…boys are meant to get bored of girls as they grow up. So why is he still playing with Camilla?~_

_~I'm eleven now and I was meant to have a party…although mother and father went out they promised I could have all my friends over…but no one came. I was alone at the table for an hour before I gave up. No one is coming. Camilla said she'd make sure everyone got them seeing as my parents were out…Camilla wouldn't lie. They must be busy like mother and father. That's okay…birthdays don't mean anything anyway. They're busy so there's no reason to be sad.~_

_~Camilla…ripped up all the invitation. No one got one. She ripped them up and threw them in the mud. She said no one would come to my birthday anyway. She's right.~_

_~I'm thirteen now, it's a special age! Thirteen means I am a teenager, I can't cry anymore. It's not allowed. But….Mother and father aren't here again. I woke up and ran downstairs this morning but they weren't there like they said they'd be. They left a note on the fridge, they got called to a meeting very late so they had to go quickly. They left a cake in the fridge though. Vincent was very nice. He took my hand and offered to light the candles for me. Elliot even made a toy sword for me to play with. So I'm not sad.~_

_~Camilla cut my hair today, she just…grabbed a big fist full and cut it off. It doesn't matter, it's only hair…only hair. Nothing to be sad about.~_

_~I'm not sad at all. I'm a big girl now! High school is important so I can't let myself be sad. People are looking at me strangely because my hair is all chopped and uneven. Mother hasn't been home in time to cut it back to look normal after Camilla cut it…so I go to school with it like this. That's okay, Rose is next to me she'll keep me company. I'm not sad at all.~  
~Stop laughing at my hair, it's just hair. It'll grow back…I didn't cut it this way, it's not my fault so stop pointing! I'm not sad at all!~_

_~I'm fourteen now.  
'Daddy! 'Guess what today is!' I said.  
'Why it's Monday Ali!' He replied.  
'It's a special Monday daddy! Guess why!' I said excitedly.  
'It's a very special day indeed Alice.' He nodded with a smile and I feel excited, maybe this time he'll take me to the zoo?  
'It's a very special business day, today I might even seal that deal. Just you wait Ali, we'll have lots of money.' He looked at his watch and pats me on the head. I'm sure he's joking…he must just be joking, he'll say happy birthday any minute now.  
'I have to go sweet.' Then he left.  
It's not sad….Today is special, we might get a little more money. Daddy and mummy are happy…so I'm happy to. Birthdays don't matter, its okay he forgot. I'm not sad at all…not at all.~_

_~My birthday is soon….but….I can't quite remember what day it is on. It doesn't matter at all. I'm not sad.~_

_~I'm not sad at all.~_

N could read no more he all but threw the book from him as though it burned to touch. Staring at it where it fell he could feel his heart hammering away in his chest.

"Miss guide…" Placing one hand against his forehead he took in a shuddering breath. When he grew up as a child he was all on his own, without a single shred of praise from his father…but the grunts were there. On his birthday they'd slip him something, smile warmly and praise him.

The goddesses would give him sweets and cake with his age in candles and offer all sorts of comforts and gifts, even if his father never did partake in the event…he was always at least able to acknowledge it while this 'loving' family…could not remember their first born's own birthday.

There was a soft snuffling and whining sound. Looking up he saw the dog, Hewie. N smiled and held his hand out to the dog. "Did you comfort her boy?" He wished the dog would reply to him as the pokemon would…and then it did.

"_Alice….my….beloved…" _N flinched back when it communicated with him, it was a broken and almost…tribal like voice. Unlike the smooth voices of the pokemon the dog seemed to struggle on each word but N was encouraged…he could communicate with animals as he would pokemon! This was beyond exciting…so why did his heart not leap for joy?

It was still dampened by what he had read. Frowning he looked at the book, the dog followed his gaze and nudged it gently with its nose, whining again.

"_Sad…Sad….Paper…sad."_ The dog's whine seemed to say. _"Alice…sad…"_ N nodded in understanding and the dog turned to face him, dark eyes all but staring into his soul. Eyes both animals and pokemon shared. _"Hewie…make Alice….smile. Boy….make….Alice smile."_

N pointed him himself hesitantly and the dog bowed its head, turning to nudge the book under the bed with its nose. _"Boy…make….Alice smile…more. Never…cry…."_ The next was a little growl from Hewie. _"Never cry….or Hewie….mad! Mad at…boy!"_

"I understand." N murmured softly, rubbing the dog behind the ear, it seemed animals truly did like him as much as Alice claimed because the dog calmed quickly to his touch and the growling stopped. There were suddenly voices down stairs, the voices belonged to the two siblings Alice had. Hewie's head whipped around and he barked.

"_Little ones! Cute ones!"_ He seemed to cry as he bounded off down stairs to greet them. N remained in Alice's room…it was a long time before one of the boys discovered him. It was, thankfully, the less annoying of the two.

"What are you doing in Alice's room?" He asked, he was quite standoffish but at least honest about everything he did and said while the younger one was very manipulative with his sweet face and innocent act.

"Waiting…shouldn't you two make food?" He asked lazily and the boys glanced between each other. "For dinner?"

"I suppose…but Alice likes to make the food." Elliot muttered and Vincent pipped up, his voice noticeably cold.

"She likes to make food…that we like. It makes her happy." Vincent glared daggers at N who glared right back, however he was older and thus he thought more composed than the child.

"Well wouldn't it be nice to do something for your sister?" The two looked a little surprised but then, much to N's surprise, they began to chatter about what to cook.

"What would she like? What's the best?" Elliot was asking as they ran off down stairs. "It'll be a great surprise! Alice'll praise us for sure!" The two at the very least seemed to adore their elder sister and rightly so!

N could hear a disaster happening down stairs but he didn't immediately go to help. It was only when everything came clattering down that he finally stirred himself to see what sort of chaos happened down stairs.

"What the hell is this!?" He shouted looking at the broken eggs everywhere and burnt meat. "What sort of cooking is that!"

The two looked at him with sour expression. "We were trying to make omelettes…Alice likes those…" Elliot told him, always the first to speak up. "Why don't you do a better job!" He challenged.

"That's…" N wanted to shout at them…but how did one make omelettes? Surely it wasn't hard. So with that he set to work, all three of Alice's boys making a right mess of her kitchen as _none _of them had any idea what it was they were doing!

….

All three of them collapsed on the steps out front of the kitchen after a few hours of their cooking, Hewie walking around licking up all the strange food substances they managed to spill.

"Where is Alice?" He asked after they stopped their frantic cooking, N had caught the little brat trying to burn his green hair and throw eggs at him a few times. Even when cooking the little pain in the ass didn't let up in the slightest.

"She said she was going for exercise…she looked pretty bad actually." Elliot murmured, looking uncertain now as he sat up on the steps.

"Bad?" N prompted, wondering what type of exercise she could possibly be doing after that accident today.

"She said, 'I need exercise. Don't worry I'm not sad at all.' So…I don't think she was okay." Vincent told N quietly, it was the first time there wasn't a snarl in his voice. N slowly sat up when he heard that.

"I'm not sad at all huh?" Getting up without a word he head up the stairs towards her room, ignoring the shouts from the two boys about helping with the cooking. He pulled the book out from under her bed again looking at the constantly repeating phrase…I'm not sad at all.

Gritting his teeth together he became very worried, just what was she really doing? It couldn't have been exercise! Just as he was getting ready to race out the door and find his guide…she stumbled in the door.  
She wasn't looking at him, in fact it seemed like she couldn't see him at all…then she just fell. It took N a moment to see it all, she was covered in all sorts of grass stains and cuts. She looked a mess…and there were still glistening tears on her face.

"I'm not sad at all…." A broken voice whispered pathetically….N could take no more. Standing slowly from the bed he made himself known to her. She looked up at him with wide eyes as though she couldn't believe he was there at all. His feet took him over this his crying guide, her usually pretty eyes were red from crying and her face stained by the fallen salty drops. He brought himself to his knees and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry…" He as apologising…for everything. For tripping her, for worrying her, for her birthdays, for not knowing…just…everything. His guide was a person, he used her it was true but he was beginning to see more and more that…she was indeed alive. She had feelings and memories…he had just over looked them for his own selfish devices and it had caused something like this.

He let her cry and cry until she could cry no more…and she passed into sleep. Her body when limp and the grip on his shirt lessened, when he looked down at her he could see the tears leaving her eyes even in sleep. Sighing softly he kissed her forehead softly and wiped away the tears. Hewie stood in the doorway watching him, and he laughed softly.

"I know boy…don't make her sad….I know." Closing his eyes he rests his forehead against her own. "Miss Guide…I am sorry I ignored you so." She wasn't from his world but she was every bit as human as he was…perhaps even more so.

"I'll do my best so you never cry again. Alice."

…

Touko

Opening her eyes Touko looked around herself. The world was moving again and she was moving again, progress was being made. She was unsure of what it was that pushed this progress forward…but she was thankful for it none the less. Each step was echoing through the empty hall of the castle, each step took her higher and higher…closer to him.

White looked up towards the stairs that stood before her, only two more flights and she'd find N. Pausing for a moment she looked behind her at the places she'd been. Sages left behind she was able to continue on, the progress was slow and occasionally she felt a sense of dread, hadn't she played through this scene before?

'_Touko, let's get through to N!_' Closing her eyes she listened to that voice, the one that guided her through every match, every gym battle and every encounter with N. That voice that had always been so optimistic had become tainted with sorrow, which sorrow became more evident with every word it spoke to her.

It only became truly animated again when belief took its place. '_I believe in the bond between pokemon and humans!_' It shouted to her and she in turn had shouted it to those around her. Touko's feelings…guided by this, the same one that urged her to find N and 'get through to him'

The belief in that voice never failed to shine through all the sorrow and uncertainty. That voice that belonged to her and only spoke when she did. Touko opened her eyes again, determination growing. Her steps turned into a sprint, she felt that if she ran fast enough, fought hard enough…did all she could. That sad voice would no longer sound so sad.

To follow a voice in your head…wasn't considered a sane persons activity but she felt strongly connected to it and…it wanted to save N. Touko wanted that to…but she feared he was becoming a monster as his father wished. A blissfully ignorant monster at that. The last step cleared she skidded to a stop looking at the last hall way, the last hallway between her and her goal. N.

The light coming down the stairs brightened the way and she again ran, she knew she could show N the belief that she felt. She'd show him her true feelings through battle!

…..

Me: *Crickets.* "Well _shit._"

Alice: *Looks back and forth desperately.* "What happened!? What just happened! That wasn't in the original script! What are you DOING!?" *Shakes her roughly.*

Me: "Well…you see… sad music…back story….all that good stuff. Also we didn't have a sad chapter just yet soo…." *Is shaken more.*

Alice: "WHY!?"

Me: "Uhh…sorry. Too much?"

Touko: *Ponders quietly.*

N: *Copies* ^^^^

Alice: "Why does she never talk? I don't…I don't…hic sob…sniffle sob…"

N: *Shattering ice.* "Who did it!?" *Snatches up the Alice.* "Who made her cry!?"

Me: *Hides putting up a 'please review' sign while hiding from N."


	14. Chapter 14 How he fits in (Day 1)

_Authors note: MINI CHAPTERS! I have just landed a new job and school is starting again tomorrow so I've a new plan on how to keep updating quickly.  
I will be releasing chapters that are about 1000-3000 words long each and it will fill in some of the days they spend together without boring you all to death. It will count up to 100 days together, just adding little things in and what not.  
This counts for the first day and they will all fall under the title 'How he fits in' Enjoy and tell me what you think!_

Chapter 14 How he fits in...He just doesn't. Day 1

Alice

"What….happened….to…..my….._kitchen!_" Ahh~…what a lovely way to start the morning off, with unbelieving screams.

"U…U…U…A…" Alice kept opening her mouth and closing it again…the kitchen looked like it had been hit by a rocket. Egg shell scattered the floor, what looked like milk over the counter dripping onto the seats and some sort of burnt meat product still in the frying pan. Twitching and gaping Alice couldn't do anything but stare at this disaster.

"Boys!" Alice all but screamed the house down, turning just to see a flash of blonde and green hair rounding the corner. Those boys were in for one hell of a shout fest. She found all three boys standing in the living room, trying to look simultaneously guilty and innocent. It didn't work out in their favour and she was shouting all sorts of things at them while they sulked.

By the end of it Alice had them scrubbing and cleaning away like slaves. Even N was forced to wash up the spilled milk…Alice ignored all their complaints until the kitchen was back to its former glory. That morning before school all the horror of the day before was forgotten and forgiven…only because the kitchen from hell overshadowed it by a mile.

By the time that she had been able to make lunch for them all and get her two little brothers prepped for school they were already looking at missing their bus. All but kicking them out of the door Alice had little to no time to breath as she and N ran for their own bus. When the twin doors closed behind them and the bus choked into life, she was able to let out one hell of a big breath.

"Let's…never do that again." Alice told him through her heavy panting, her legs were already aching from the running she had forced herself through the day before and that morning's work out hadn't helped all that much. N was only a little tired but at the same time much more composed than her; he nodded in silent agreement before they went to the back of their bus and took their usual seats.

Alice noticed how distant he seemed that morning…not that he ever appeared to be all there in his head. However she made no attempt to talk to him after that, the reason behind his distance must have been the events for the past day. When she eventually found him in her room she had just passed out, exhaustion doing a number on her.

Having woken up to the gentle shine of the morning light through her window she had been all but mind dead for a good few minutes. Laying motionless in her familiar bed while staring blankly as her empty ceiling. All too suddenly she remembered what she'd thought she'd lost the day before and threw her blankets off of herself. Jumping off the bed to go and find N however when she threw the door open she just ran into him.

Stumbling back a few steps she stared at N who stared back at her, her clutching her nose where she'd barged into him and him holding onto a plate. It was lucky Alice was so short or she would have knocked that plate out of his hands. On the plate sat an…omelette? It was hard to tell, it looked as though it had been mangled badly before being set on the plate, but she caught the scent of eggs and bacon.

He hadn't said much, just a 'good morning' and 'here' as he gave her the plate. Then he left her standing in the door way holding the plate of food. Sitting back down on her bed she just looked down at the brightly coloured dish, although it looked so messy it smelt okay. Eventually she smiled and even went so far as to laugh. N was still here…and he was bringing breakfast?

The only problem was that it tasted…..unusual. It was edible but it was obvious N had little to no idea how to cook, to prove this point she found the occasional egg shell in the omelette and she thought he might have used sugar instead of salt. She had to laugh at this, she'd show him how to cook a little bit later…that of course had led to the morning disaster in the kitchen.

Nevertheless…Alice couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering N. She couldn't figure out if it was anger or some sort of sorrow but whatever this mystery emotion happened to be it was responsible for crippling their conversation. Thus the bus ride moved along without so much as a murmur passing between them.

….

"Al-ic-eee!" When she slid open the door to their usual meeting place she was met by a squealing Rose. Tackling her right over and onto the ground with a heavy thud her blonde haired friend went about her usual business of suffocating Alice as a form of saying hello. No one took much notice of it as she struggled out of the death grip, when she was finally allowed to breathe again she took a quick glace around the room and noticed the obvious.

"Tharja and Len aren't here today?" She asked and Rose happily shook her head, they were all use to the twins just not coming to school most the time. No one was about to question it. At the back of the room sitting in his chair while leaning it back on two legs and feet on his desk was Axel. When he saw Alice and N walk in he took one glance at them and then closed his eyes, obviously still put off from yesterday's events.

Sighing heavily Alice just shook her head slightly, today was going to be a long day with N's quietness and Axel's agitation.

(Now pay attention!  
I will be (hopefully) Putting up a chapter every day or two, a short chapter depicting some days they have together up until 100 days. They will be short but they will be out faster than usual. They might only be 1-3000 words long but that's the price of fast updates, this should only last four or five chapters. Wish me luck!  
And because I love you all I am going to continue this one as one of the little chapters. enjoy.)

Day 1: Agriculture.

N had still not spoken to Alice much that day. They continued through classes quietly with only the occasional question to aid him along with things he didn't understand. Alice was beginning to feel more and more uneasy, was N thinking about something bad? Had she done something to piss him off? Without realising it she began to fret over it.

"What is this?" N asked her as they travelled between classes together, N had the bag she gave him for school tossed over one shoulder casually as they walked. He was putting their time table in front of her face as he asked the question, a slender finger pointing to their next class.

"Agriculture?" Alice spoke their class out loud and suddenly she was more hopeful, N would like agriculture for sure! It had to do with planting and farming but in their school they had a few animals on the property and best of all they were allowed to get closer to them than the other students would. Smiling happily she turned to N again, finally feeling as though she could speak again.

"It's a class based around farming, growing crops and raising live stock." She explained in the simplest terms she could. "There will be more animals down there that you haven't seen before." When that was added his distant expression lit up into a much more interested one, she had gotten his attention hook line and sinker!

They first appeared in the class room like any other class but their somewhat constantly late teacher did what he normally did and directed them all down to the Ag plot the moment he arrived. N was busily asking away about the term 'Ag plot' and she explained that they usually shorted the word agriculture to 'Ag' and the plot was their work area, they had plots for every few students that they would grow their plants in as well. She had to spend quite a while explaining just why and how they broke it up into sections like that.

All of his questions died away when he saw the sheep they had grazing down by the Ag plot. Abandoning his current questions he dragged her over to the fence pointing at them like a child. Alice wished she had it in her to be angry with him more…but he just looked so excited she couldn't help but go along with it.

"That one there is a Merino." She explained pointing to the white sheep with the thickest wool and slightly different shaped face. "Those over there are our suffix sheep and that one over there is a border leister. If you want I'll show you how to tell all of them apart." N looked at her with those bright inquisitive eyes.

"Alice!" The agriculture teacher called to her, looking over her shoulder towards him she saw the smile. That teacher was rather understanding and she was fond of him. "Show your cousin about the sheep, show him around the plot and then tend to your garden, you're alright with sharing with your cousin right?" Alice nodded and waved him off, he went off to show the rest of the students what type of rabbit poisons they used at the plot…it was probably best N didn't see that part.

"Alright listen I'll show you all the sheep." N nodded, he was almost back to normal with his puppy behaviour. She told him about the suffix's black skin and white coats, the merino being the best wool sheep in Australia and the border leisters own uses. The more she spoke the more intently he listened.

Alice, being the golden student she was, got the teachers permission to go into the sheep's pen to refill their water and stack their hay up once more. N had no difficulty putting the hay up in the higher places her little arms wouldn't reach. After that the teacher gave her the milk bottle that was needed for one of the lambs. "More to the point this one here is Tuff!" Alice told him when she saw that familiar runt come into view as they entered into the pen.

"A...suffix wasn't it?" N asked trying the word out as he watched the tiny lamb stumbling in on unsteady feet. "He's smaller than the others." He noted looking at the other three lambs they had that were Tuff's siblings, well two of them anyway.

"Well yes, that's because he is a runt. Tuff was born weaker than the other lambs so we have to give him some help on his way." She told him while waving the milk bottle in front of his face. "As strange as it might seem us hand feeding him has made him much friendlier than the other sheep….having said that none of them as ill natured."

"Did you give him the nick name Tuff?" He asked watching her kneel down and call for the runt.

"I'm the only one that calls him that, it's a sort of secret nick name. I always liked the outcasts or weaker animals. So when I saw Tuff looking so dejected compared to his siblings I begged the teacher to let me bottle feed him. As a result I like to think he is my own pet…that's not true but it's nice enough. Good boy Tuff." She praised the lamb when it toddled over to her, to take the teat of the bottle and start suckling while its siblings took milk from their mother.

"Those two over there are his siblings." She told him pointing to two more Suffix lambs, much bigger than Tuff was. "They usually have twins or triplets."

"What about that one? It's got the white face." N pointed to another lamb that was currently bothering its Merino mother. "There is only one."

"That one is the merino lamb, they did have twins but one of them died…" Alice sighed sadly. "Someone didn't lock the gate properly and a fox got it." N looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"A fox is much like a dog…." Alice began from the top and spent a good ten minutes explaining what a fox looked like.

"Come on N I'll show you the rest of the plot." Getting up once Tuff was finished drinking she took N to see the chooks they had. In a big open space with a few chook pens they had ducks and chickens and even two ill tempered geese. She took her time pointing them all out and relating them each to a pokemon. N asked about their different colours and how to tell them apart.

The longer she spent with him the more he seemed to grasp the idea of animals being able to be coloured differently yet still be the same species, he was even beginning to adjust to how the animal families worked.

She took him into the pen to collect the eggs, in the dim light of the chicken coops she helped him gather up the eggs and told him they would be incubated so that some more chicks could be born. She liked to watch how his face lit up into a smile whenever he picked up a new egg. He liked to ask her about the different shades of brown and white the eggs were and hold them up to the light, they were much smaller than pokemon eggs and that alone was enough to captivate him.

Next they went to see the rabbits they had. Mice and rabbits were kept in the school to be studied for pest control, the kittens had just been born a few weeks ago and Alice knew N would love them as much as he did. She then had to explain the different ways of calling baby animals and then quizzed him on it.

"Okay from the top." She smiled smugly, enjoying just how he struggled with it but kept a cool face on the whole time as he cleared his throat and began a second time.

"Chicken, chick. Sheep, lamb. Cow, Calf. Rabbit, kitten. Cat….kitten." He did pause on that one, not that she blamed him, it was strange to call two different animal babies the same thing but there were plenty of those in their world. "Duck, duckling. Dog, pup. Human, baby. Goat…baby?" She held her finger up to stop him, giving him a chance to remember what she told him. "Kid." He corrected himself and nodded.

"You remembered. Wonderful." He smiled when she praised him. "Don't forget there are lots of other animals with strange baby names. For example a shark's young is called a pup like a dog." N looked thrown off again.

"But…a dog is furry and on land…a shark is under the water. Why do they have the same type of baby name?" Alice merely shrugged.

"We made some weird choices when naming animals. Nothing we can do about it now. Try to keep up with our strange choices." Alice next took him to the actual garden to show him the crops she was growing, she expected him to lose interest but instead he continued to be interested.

"So you don't have berries in this land…?" He asked looking at the little green sprouts.

"No, no. We do, just berries are usually much smaller and grow mainly on vines. A little different to your own. We don't have the same types of berries as you do…but look I'll show you our fruit trees." Leading him over to the orange and lemon trees they grew she talked about how they defined fruit. It wasn't the same as his interest in pokemon but it seemed he was also expression an interest in their world in general.

That made Alice happier than she thought it would, it meant that he wasn't just interested in pokemon….but other people and things. Smiling they continued on their little educational journey together. When it got close to the end of the day they began packing up and Alice noticed someone didn't put away the equipment properly. Sighing in frustration she moved to put it away herself.

Only she wasn't tall enough. Struggling on the tippy toes for a few minutes she desperately tried to put the items where they needed to be. In the end she lost her balance and fell onto her back side. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…" She whined rubbing her bottom with a pained expression. She heard a soft snickering sound and turned to see N covering his mouth gently while laughing.

"You're too small." He told her while picking up the item she dropped and putting it away himself without trouble. Alice glared at him and N only laughed more openly. "Don't look so bitter, it's away isn't it?" He asked and she got up, dusting herself off and striding away from him in a huff…only to bump into a pole. Stumbling back clutching her head she fell into N's chest and N just looked at her with a smug sort of expression.

"And you're too clumsy." Alice could only glare at the ground. "What am I going to do with you….at this rate you're going to break every bone in your body." He spoke with a sigh but the arrogance in his tone was impossible to miss. "I have an idea."

Before she knew what was going on he had swept her off her feet and into his arms bridal style. "I'll just carry you home so you don't manage to damage your poor self anymore." No matter how much she shouted at him or insisted she wouldn't hurt herself…he didn't put her down until they were on the bus and she was sufficiently embarrassed.

…..

_Me: "Okay so this is the first in mini chapters! Tell me what you think of said mini chapters!"_


	15. Chapter 15 How He Fits In (Day 10)

_Authors Notes:  
HA! Fast update! Short but fast! Do you like them short and fast or long and slow? Tells me!_

Day 10: Music.

N

"What are you doing?" N asked over Alice's shoulder but was let down when he didn't get the usual jump and shout. Alice actually couldn't hear him as she sketched away. She had head phones plugged into her ears, making it impossible to hear his voice that was so close to her ear.

Hearing giggling N looked up to see Rose watching him from her desk, lunch time would often pass like this. People would be reading, eating and chatting and every so often Alice wouldn't respond to him, she seemed lost in some sort of trance. "What is so funny?" He asked the blonde haired girl who merely smiled more and adjusted a strand of hair on her hair.

"Why are you trying to talk to her when she obviously can't hear you?" N continued to stare at her, waiting for her to explain just what she was saying. "Well she's got head phones in her ears obviously. She can't hear a word your saying."

"Headphones?" N looked back to Alice with a frown. Suddenly the blonde girl had popped her head up from the other side of his desk with a mischievous grin.

"Exactly, don't worry though, we can still have lots of fun with that sort of thing." She told him and behind them he heard the disgruntle male friend sigh.

"Rose don't you think Alice will get angry if you continue to mess with her?" He asked but Rose didn't seem at all put off, instead she only grinned more.

"I say we nick her food while she is out of it!" N was having trouble understanding this sort of situation…but in the end Alice had pulled off her head phones before any damage could be done and N was left to wonder about what exactly she was listening to under there.

When the school day came to a close he watched as she put the ear buds back into her head and started to draw in her note book again. She didn't say a word to him, not on the bus, not when they got home and she didn't even stick around after giving him his dinner.

N was becoming agitated, why was she ignoring him because of those head phones? Deciding he had enough of her neglect he left his room and travelled into hers, she never felt the need to lock the door and N could easily just stroll right in without any effort.

However she did have her own guard…in the form of that annoying little brat. Standing there with his hands crossed over his chest Vincent was glaring at him with the usual heat. "What are you doing in here? Go back to your own house." For a little boy he was a bossy little shit.

N didn't want to waste his time with the runt…but perhaps he might be of some use in this situation. "What do you know about those bud things?" He asked, completely ignoring the boys demands and coldness as he made little gestures with his hands to show the way Alice pulled them from her ears whenever she was done with them.

He looked at N for a long time without saying a thing, as if trying to figure out if he was being serious or not. "You mean her head phones?" He asked slowly, not sure what to make of this sudden turn of events.

"She plugs them into a little box." N continued and understanding dawned on the young boy.

"You're asking about her ipod and head phones? What haven't you got one? How lame." N tried not to let the boy get to him so easily. "What could you possibly want to know about that sort of stuff? They're for her music." He told N as though it was the most obvious thing in the whole world but to N it was nothing even close to obvious.

"Music…?" He murmured to himself thoughtfully. With that in mind he moved past the brat who gave him the stink eye as he passed him, not liking him anymore than N did in return. Yet he was again stopped, by the other sibling no less. Elliot was not as cold as his younger appearing twin but there was most certainly an air of distrust about him. Looking at him he noticed the toy sword strapped to his side, the adventurous type of child it would seem.

"Why are you in here?" He asked N the same question his brother had just with a little less venom in his words. N sighed and rolled his weight onto his other foot, he might as well try and get information from everyone he ran into before going directly to his guide.

"Actually I am trying to figure something out." Taking a kinder tone with that boy was ideal. "Your sister, she seems to be listening to some….ipod." He murmured trying out the new word he picked up from the other twin. Yet again that look of understanding dawned on the boys face.

"Oh, she's had her head in the clouds all day. She must have gotten some new music again. She should be over it soon enough." He told him before wandering off down stairs. "Usually it only lasts a few days at a time. New songs, new art to be drawn. I'm sure she'll come around again to pay attention to you." He told N before vanishing down stairs, leaving N to ponder what he had heard.

It wasn't making to much sense but he continued to head to his guide's room. "Miss guide." He called knocking on her door but there was no answer, he could hear movement inside and occasionally a voice. Listening more closely he tried to make out what she was saying and doing.

It sounded like she was running around in there and something like a melody being spoken. N was at a loss for what his guide would be doing with such a description. While he puzzled this out in his head there was a gentle nudge against his foot. Looking down he say Hewie staring up at him.

"Hey boy, what can you tell me?" He asked the dog now. Hewie tipped his head on its side with a small whine.

"Alice….noisy things…in her ears. She…ignores…Hewie." The usual forced words formed in the air for N to listen to. He was quickly becoming fond of the dog's way of speaking, it wasn't as fluid or as well formed as a pokemons but there was a certain charm to it and just being able to speak to an animal was amazing for the young king. That day when Alice took him to that…'Ag plot' he had been able to hear lots of the animals voices. All chatting away happily.

It did not come across as clear as a pokemon's speech but that little lam Tuff had been quite happy when seeing Alice. It had proved to be a rather interesting trip and according to Alice they would get to see that lamb three times a week. He would have to try talking to it next time for certain. Shaking off those thoughts he moved back to the issue at hand.

"And…" Hewie continued, catching his attention. "Alice…does funny…movements." There was a sort of amused tone to the dogs speech and N could almost make out some sort of smile on the large dogs face. "Funny sounds….funny actions….funny Alice." Intrigued N listened in on the door again, wondering just what she was doing, was she singing?

There was only one way to find out…and N peeked. It was wrong of him to peek in on a girl's private time but his agitation at being ignored and interest in what she was doing had him opening the door just to peek in at Alice.

She was standing in her room and with the head phones in her ears…she was…dancing? It was funny to watch her move about like that, to music he could not hear. N watched in amusement as he watched her, she continued to move about, she actually looked like she might know what she was doing…but…without the music it still came across as rather silly.

Watching her a little longer he began to notice patterns in her movements, she'd occasionally count off on her fingers or make some sort of fist. It almost looked like the type of movements one might use in a pokemon battle…just without the reasoning behind it. Eventually N pulled himself from his hiding place behind the door, she didn't notice him at all with those things in her ears.

She would occasionally hum along with music he couldn't hear or speak a word or two but it was quiet, she was aware that her brothers were home and did not want them to hear. A rather devious streak appeared in the green haired king. Sneaking up behind her he reached back with one hand to flick the light switch sending the room plummeting into darkness.

He could just make out her silloutte with the light from the moon and he could see her stop moving, confusion playing out just as he planned. Once a mere second had passed he reached forward and gathered her up into his arms. One hand covering her mouth tightly and the other winding around her waist. She kicked and struggled much more than he expected her to and the muffled shouting was at the very least admirable.

With her flailing N was thrown off balance and they both landed down on her bed, while covering her mouth he could feel the heat in her face, she must have been blushing again. He almost regretted turning off the lights, he could see such an interesting expression if he kept them on…but the effect would not be the same.

With her muffled protests and kicking it was quite the chore to hold her still as she tore up the blankets on her bed with those kicks. Yet N was able to locate the item he wanted, the cords connecting the buds to her ears. With a sharp yank he pulled on from her ear allowing her to finally hear him as he desires.

"See what happens when you ignore me with those silly things?" Her kicking came a sudden stop and she lay on top of him, frozen like a statue. Her little chest was heaving with the effort she had put in to struggling against him and his arms easily kept her tight against him as he continued. Her face felt even hotter now against his palm and he couldn't help the smile that slipped onto his face, such a pure hearted girl. It was amusing.

"This is your punishment for ignoring your student for such a long time miss guide." As those words were spoken he could feel her starting to squirm and protest again, after that all that was left to do was start tickling her mercilessly.

…

Alice.

_That…creep…. _Was all Alice could think after N's tickle attack.

Sitting on her destroyed bed Alice glared at N who seemed so smug and content. He had just jumped her suddenly and started tickling her, muttering things about her music getting in the way and 'those things.' Once the 'punishment' was over he had finally released her and just sat by her side in the dark room. The moon light was brighter now and it was easier to see each other.

"So you were listening to this?" He asked, putting one of the head phones in. "It's….interesting." He acknowledged finally, that was enough to please her. So she forgave his random attack and the two of them settled down on her bed, both with one head phone and eyes set on the bright screen in the dark room.

"These two are my favourite." Alice told him softly, showing him a song by a famous brother and sister duo. "Tai and Remula. They are raising pop stars at the moment." She explained showing him a picture of the two on stage performing, they were like beings from another world to Alice and just talking about them had her eyes sparkling and heart pounding. Normally Alice wasn't one for pop but these two had it down just perfectly and had an amazing talent for writing stories in their music, not just random words about hoes, sex, hangovers and parties which were all the rage in the music industry right now.

Alice was completely taken with the duo. N noticed it to and frowned a little bit. "Do you want to see them perform?" The simple question threw Alice way off and she began to gush about how she had always dreamed of seeing one of their live performances but they were always sold out or far away. As time passed she could see N also enjoying the music and so they just sat there together in the dark listening to her favourite artists sing.

It was their latest night together, showing N the type of music she liked…but she was still terribly happy with just that. N seemed a little withheld from the music but eventually even he couldn't deny some of its charms.

"Ever ignore me for this stuff again and you won't get off so lightly." He warned her just before they started another song…Alice promised never to ignore him for tunes again. That night while listening to track after track somewhere N lost Alice to sleep. He remained awake flicking through songs while she dozed off next to him. It wasn't the first time Alice had fallen asleep on N's shoulder and with how comfortable it was…it wasn't likely to be the last time.

….

_Me: "So this is the first chapter of my short posts. How is it? Short and almost pointless yes but it's filling the gaps between days and also was updates quickly. ^^"_

_Alice: "I don't mind but…I thought N was a strange man breaking into my room!" T-T_

_N: "I would never..!" *Lies…just a little.*_

_Touko: "…." *Wonders if she'll get a chapter.*_

_Me: "Maaaybe… Until next time review!"_


	16. Chapter 16 How He Fits In (Day 21)

_Authors Note (_Important_.) __Change in plot and suggestions for chapters!_  
_Okay so I've been looking over this story that I hadn't actually planned out…and I am thinking of changing it. To justify the OCs and all that there is probably going to be a lot darker stuff up ahead and screwing around with the whole plot. Don't worry the new plan has a second half where it is much more about the pokemon side of things as well. Just to make up for all the real world and OC.  
So tell me does it bother you if I make it darker? Or more realisitic or mess around with pokemons actual plot a bit? Or is that all okay with you guys? Tells me so I can plan my story out and keep this going. X_X_  
Ideas and suggestions are a great help to! Something you want to see happen in the current mini-filler chapters I am putting up? (I.E The 'Day' Chapters) Tell me and I'll try to write a chapter about it!

...

Day 21: History

Alice.

"Say miss guide. Did all these things really happen like this?" N asked leaning across in his seat to get a look at the text book sitting in front of Alice. The two of them were sitting together in history class, the teacher was a lovely young woman and Alice enjoyed counting the number of times she would adjust her glasses while talking. She took her class very seriously and it was obvious she had a passion for the past so as a result she always had something interesting to tell them.

"Wars like this?" She looked down at the book under her arms, they were currently naming off some of the big wars of the past. It looked to N like they were trying to tell him ghost stories or something.

"Well didn't you have wars back in your own world?" Alice asked him and he seemed to pause and think about that. Slowly he nodded and she could almost guess what he was going to say. She was right on the money when he did answer her.

"Yes we did. But those wars were nothing like this. I've never heard of such a large scale of death. Bombs, poison, biological war fare and guns…these _things_…we just don't have them back at home." Alice nodded as she flicked the page to more images of explosions and men hunkered down in bunkers. It was to be expected they didn't have such weapons. They had pokemon and although there was so much violence in their world it was not made up of human violence but pokemon.

Thus death during their wars might have occurred but not on the scale that they saw even the pokemon would have most likely fainted instead of dying. Alice knew this but she hadn't sat down to analyse just how different it was up until N came to be with her. She wasn't expected to do that sort of thing.  
"There are lots of things to fight over, the only issue is…in this world there is no definite right or wrong. We don't have the same sorts of heroes that exist in your world." Alice spoke sadly.

"We only dream that heroes like that exist, it's sad really. Still in despite of that we have a very different type of hero here." She added showing him a picture of an ANZAC memorial. "Even if we aren't always positive we are in the right or wrong, we can still acknowledge their bravery." N looked at her quizzically, she wasn't sure he completely understood so she turned to the next page.

"Lots of people die at war and not too many come back from the bigger fights but for the most part they were all fighting for what they believed in. They all fought for their own home and the things they loved. So in that sense they are every part heroes." Alice paused to look at N who was giving her a strange look. He was smiling just slightly but she wasn't sure what type of smile that was, it did not light up his face as some others might.

"You really get so bent out of shape about these things miss guide." Although he said that he still with a smile those words sounded a little bit sad. A moment later he brushed it off and turned back to the book to flick to the next page himself. It occurred to Alice that to N…he was still viewed as the bad guy from the games perspective. They had to stop N from ruining how they saw their way of life…that must have been hard for N to process and suddenly Alice felt very insensitive.

"But you know…" He paused in his flicking to look at her again. "Like I said there is no definite right or wrong in this case there is only everyone defending what they love. On both sides." His expression lifted just slightly, he understood she was trying to cheer him up and he, at the very least, accepted her help.

Sitting together they continued to look at the wars that had gone past, she took her time to explain to him what a world war was and how it affected others. The outcome of wars and generally things even primary school children could understand yet N struggled to comprehend.

"Do you have legends here?" N asked her after she finished explaining just why guns were banned in Australia and why they for some reason were not in America. At least N was as confused about that as she was…she would never understand why they didn't just remove the damned things.

"Well...almost…kinda. Here let me show you this." She pulled out another book. "These are folk stories. You'll hear legends about dragons or banshees in this. Also the dream time stories from the aboriginals in Australia." N as always was an attentive student and she had to be careful to try and keep him understanding what she meant.

"These stories are often said to just be old wives tales or ways to make sure children learned what was right and wrong and what was dangerous or not. There are many views on these types of stories, they were also used to try and explain why the world is as it is." Alice might have just loved to hear herself talk…but telling N all about their world made her terribly happy and the interest he showed in what she had to say did give her a little ego booster.

"What sort of creatures do they show?" N was looking at the book much more closely than he had the history book. It was to be expected, everyone was generally more interesting in fiction than fact. Alice was rather fond of such stories so she hadn't a problem telling him about mythical creatures.

"This is a banshee, the story here tells of a wailing woman. If you hear her screaming it means you're going to die soon and a man with no head riding a carriage will arrive to take you to death. That is the Dullahan, a creature without it's head attached." Alice paused to look at N, unsettled but not yet scared…she would have to work harder if she wanted to scare him. That could wait for another day though. They got way off topic from history and she rattled off the names of all the mythical creatures she knew, he stopped her at one of the most obvious ones.

"Dragons? Dragons like…?" N asked suspiciously. Alice knew that in the pokemon world they did indeed still refer to some of them as dragon types, it didn't make much sense when she thought about it now but originally she had figured it was to give the audience an idea of what it was based off.

"This." Alice put a picture in front of him of a great red dragon guarding a cave enterance overflowing with gold. "There are lots of different types of dragons but this is the most common image you'll see. A great lizard with four legs and wings…of course we've never actually proven they exist. Just stories and rumours to go off."

"I see…so you've never seen one…" N trailed off in thought and Alice felt a little sad, assuming he had been hopping for some sort of news on one of the legendary dragons from his world. That wasn't what was going through his head at all…his behaviour changed all too quickly.  
"Miss guide!" N said suddenly, loud enough to get the teacher to glare at them. Just as suddenly he took her hands in his, eyes shining with excitement. "Let's go find a dragon together!" Alice could only stare at him…she'd have thought he'd gone nuts if anyone else had said that to her. But N was N and this wasn't abnormal for him.

"Nate…" With so many people giving them strange looks she had to use his fake name. "That's a little silly. Come on be serious." She spoke, nervously laughing as she did. "There are no dragons. Just stories" N's face fell and his disappointment almost crushed her, he looked like a kicked puppy!

"Oh…is that so?" He asked quietly, truly looking as though he was sulking. "I had hoped I could meet a dragon here…" Sighing Alice pat his back gently and after he got over the loss of the dragons they returned to talks of war. Flicking through their history book once more. Without thinking she continued to turn pages until she got…to a page that made her skin crawl.

"What's that?" N asked her quietly and Alice sighed as she looked at the page. "Another bomb?"

"Yes this was the first nuclear bomb ever dropped. America dropped it on a place called Hiroshima." She told him feeling grim when talking about a topic like that. "It killed many, many people and today there are still people dying from the radiation it caused. Cancer and other illnesses were a long term result."

"This was the first time a bomb like this was dropped...and after that war not another nuclear bomb has been dropped." Alice told him, she could feel herself becoming sad just at the thought. "The next time it is used…I'm afraid that…it will be worse. If everyone starts using weapons like this I am sure we're going to murder this world." N's gaze dropped back to the book in her hands, he looked mortified in his own way.

"Their flesh…" N noted quietly as he stared at the picture. It was an image taken from the museum in Hiroshima, with was figures depicting the people that had been close enough to the explosion to become burnt by it. Their flesh was hanging off them and Alice had to shut the book quickly, the snap of it closing with such force echoing around the room. N stopped to look at her, Alice knew she was over reacting and removing the image from sight wouldn't make it any less real.

"Hey…it's alright. Sensei…it's okay." N murmured to her softly, reaching out to gently rest his hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair gently as he smiled at her. "It's alright now. Don't think about it anymore." Alice knew it was stupid to become upset over a text book…but she couldn't help it. She had read so many of the victim's stories and without even knowing it she had tears forming in her eyes.

Yet…when N's hand rested on her head and pat her so warmly…she felt almost nostalgic. The upsetting feelings seemed to wither and give away to a small warmth in her chest, to feel so happy over just a gentle pat…there must be something really wrong with her.

"It had to be done, didn't you hear?" Suddenly a familiar voice and unwelcome voice piped up, shattering that warm feeling in an instant. "They ended the war with those bombs, saved thousands of lives and all that." Camellia told them in that pompous way of hers. It was likely she was only doing this to spite Alice…she probably didn't know anything about the bombing.

"Even so! It's appalling to see, can't you even feel rumours for those that died?" Alice demanded but Camellia only made a noise of derision and turned away from her.

"It's not like you knew any of them anyway. Stop acting like a little saint, it's sickening." Alice gritted her teeth together but said no more…instead it was N who spoke along with an assault. This time he tossed the book at Camellia, it hit her right on the side of her head with a flurry of pages turning. She cried out and looked at N in horror, obviously remembering him from the little episode at the beach.

"Who are you to say anything?" He asked her in a dark voice. "Unless you have had a bomb dropped on your head or had to be involved in war what gives you the right to dismiss their deaths? Learn your place. Distasteful little girl." The teacher had finally taken notice of this and was shouting for N to take his seat and apologise. He did nothing of the sort. Reaching out he grabbed Alice's hand and dragged them both from the room.

Alice had little choice but to follow him…and he only got more upset as he walked. "Your world is immoral! All those wars and murdering each other…all those that died because of such trivial reasons, it's wrong. People here are just despicable!" He was ranting as he dragged Alice down the halls, it was lucky the day was coming to a close or they would be skipping every other class they had…Alice was doing a lot of class skipping now that N was around.

"That sort of thing would never happen in my world! It's just plain _wrong_." They were in the courtyard now and he stopped pulling her, pausing to look at the sky.

"Are you afraid, sensei?" Alice's hand was released and she pulled it to her chest, standing a few steps behind him she stared at him while he stared at the sky. "Are you afraid of war? Of bombs?...Are you afraid you'll be killed in something as pointless as war? Being killed by some horrible moral-less person?"

"Sometimes…" She said honestly. "Sometimes I'm terrified that someone will decide to drop a bomb like that on us and we'll all die without even having a chance."

"….Then….When we find a way for me to go back to my world where there are no bombs…will you…?" N was muttering something under his breath something she couldn't quite hear over the wind that blew past them both.

"But…the again." N stopped in his muttering, seeming to realise she was still there as she spoke. "I like to think that everyone is thinking the same thing as me. No one wants to be killed like that…and I don't believe anyone is truly bad down to their core." It was her turn to look at the sky as she spoke, gentle words that she wasn't sure she could always put faith into.

"Everyone might be different and there is both good and bad out there…but I believe that everywhere there was wonderful people to believe in. So…if I can hold onto that thought then I won't have to be afraid of bombs, surely…if everyone thinks the same way no one will launch them."

"You can't really believe that." N's voice startled her, it was too soft, too dark and far too familiar. "People are corrupt…they will do terrible things to you given the chance. Of course you wouldn't understand that…of course _you _wouldn't."

"N! I have told you before and I'll tell you again. I believe in the good in others." Alice smiled and pressed a hand to her chest as she spoke. "I'm afraid of a lot of things…bombs and war yes…but I truly do believe in the people around me, no matter how bad they might be on occasions." N was silent for what seemed like eternity but finally his form relaxed and turning to look at her he smiled faintly.

"Miss guide. Don't be afraid of those wars, from now on I'll protect you from such things." Alice knew he meant well but there was no way he could protect even himself from a bomb…but…she still smiled. It was okay to, just for a little while, pretend things like war didn't exist, all that existed was the world she lived in now with N.

A world not ravaged by such things…she only wished that N would see the good in others and come to trust them as well.

...

_Me: "And this was meant to be a cute thing…oh well war isn't cute." XD_

_N: "I still don't like people…" *Grumbles in the corner.*_

_Me: "Oh we all know why you hate them…" *Eyes the Ghetsis shaped shadow in the corner.* _

_N: "Oh yeah! That right I just remembered! You asked people to give chapter ideas for the short chapter? You'll really write their ideas? What if they just say lemons?...Why do people want fruit?"_

_Alice: "Haa…N really struggles to understand a lot of things doesn't he…?"_

_N: "What do you mean by that?" *Danger, danger.* '._

_Alice: "Wha? Nothing at all! NOTHING!" *Runs far away until the next chapter_.*


	17. Chapter 17 How He Fits In (Day 34)

Authors Notes:  
Day 34, this is where I am beginning to twist and change the story line. Naturally seeing as it is different from how I originally planned it some of the early things won't add up as much. Hopefully you can over look or just flat out not notice them, they are only small and won't show much until LATE into the story.  
I will also be bringing in lots of characters later (actually POKEMON characters not OC so calm down.) I'll have to make a list. XD  
I am still taking requests for any of the day chapters while planning out my own. ^^ So with that little note enjoy!

Oh yeah and just so I don't forget…hehe…*nervous laughter* in the last chapter I mentioned some sensitive material, just so we're clear I'm not making any statements on who was right or wrong in war or in anything in life…That's actually said in the chapter that there is no solid good or evil it's just sad that people have to die. *Bows.* Sorry if I upset anyone! Please just remember I didn't intentionally imply anything about America or anyone in it being bad.  
Like Alice kept saying, no good or evil just different people protecting different things.

Alright now please enjoy.

….

Day34: Fighting (The torn picture)

Alice.

"Ha!" Alice stopped in her tracks hearing a familiar voice shouting out from the gym. N paused a moment later, back peddling a little bit to stand besides her as she stared off towards the school gym.

"What is it?" He asked her, he often said those words. So much so Alice could almost mouth sync with him when he said them. Shortly after he asked that question the same loud yell came again, this time N heard it to and his gaze was also drawn to the gym. The sounds of thuds and wood smashing against wood could also be heard from a distance.

The school day was coming to a close and the air was beginning to gain the chill of the coming night but still they stopped heading home, interested in the sounds coming from the gym.  
"That's probably the prince again." Alice said a little uncertainly.

"Prince? You have royalty here?" N asked her curiously and she laughed out right, how was N to know that prince was only a nick name?

"No, no…he's only royalty within the school." Alice told him. "It's just what we happen to call him. He's sometimes in the gym after school."

"Doing what?" Puzzled by the strange sounds Alice decided to take N to see just what it was they did in this world instead of pokemon battles. Taking him by his arm she lead him away from the usual walk to the bus and off towards the gym.

The two of them peeked through the doors and in at the male inside. N glanced down at her and she could almost feel the disapprove boring down on her, from his point of view they were being little sneaks…Like he was one to talk about being a sneak with how often he was sneaking up behind her now days.

Still they both peeked into the gym, inside there was a black haired boy hitting a bag over and over again. Boxing. "What is he doing…?" N sounded even more puzzled as they watched the boy hit the beaten bag to the point Alice thought it might just break open…how scary.

"Boxing." Alice turned to N, drawing her attention away from the boxing boy. "Instead of pokemon battles, humans do the fighting for themselves. It's not exactly a worldwide practice but common enough. The prince is our best fighter. He teaches classes after school on some days. I heard he is very strict." Alice didn't want to use the term 'scary tyrant' but the boy was just that.

A moment later there was a solid thud causing Alice to give a shout of alarm. The black haired boy had turned to face them, his expression had Alice wanting to run for cover. With the boxing mitts still on he glared at them both before lifting his hand to point their way…at least she thought it was pointing…hard to tell with those gloves.

"You two there…! If you've come to the gym at this time you must want training, if not I ask why you're spying on me…like a pair of rapists." Alice waved her hands wildly as a shock went through her body at the word rapist.

"Y-You've misunderstood prince…!" She tensed when she said prince and for a moment his expression darkened but then became a rather threatening grin.

"Prince…? Well then…looks like you really are here for training. Get in." Without having a choice in the matter they were both suddenly roped into the tyrannical princes training. N hadn't said anything to save them instead seeming too interested in this whole 'boxing' thing to bother. Alice was terrified though, the prince was a scary person…she didn't want to be his punch up bag…!

"Put these on." He tossed boxing gloves at Alice and she clumsily threw them up into the air a few times before finally closing her arms around them. The prince was watching her with a cold expression…waiting for her and enduring her incompetence.

Sullenly she slipped the gloves on, all she could think of was the prince knocking her out on the first hit, and she was trembling terribly.

"Sensei…" N murmured to her gently. "You look like you've seen a ghost, what's the matter?" Didn't he realise she was in terrible danger!?  
_Forget bombs and war…! Save me from the prince!_ No matter how much she wanted to say that she couldn't…not in front of the prince.

"I am going to assess your skill range and your strength. Strike me." He brought his gloves up as if offering her targets. Well not being punched was good but now she had an image of her delivering a pathetic punch and being laughed at or hit one thousand times harder! Terrified her body felt like stone…she couldn't budge an inch…  
"Strike!" His sharp command shattered that stone like feeling, replacing it with nervous energy.

"Y-Yes sir…!" Alice moved forward and slammed both fist and glove into his own gloved hand, only a moment after the punch did the embarrassment set in. She hadn't been able to hit hard at all…how awfully embarrassing. The prince was looking at her strangely and she knew a moment later he was going to laugh.

"Haa.." He sighed gently and moved his gloves down. "So that's your skill range. As expected" Alice stood with her hands firmly glued to her sides and red spreading across her face faster than she could run away. "Not bad." Surprised she looked up at the prince, she almost felt he was praising her.

"For a tiny girl." There was the sound of shattering glass in the back of Alice's head, the shattering glass representing her shattered pride. …._tiny….girl_… the words echoed in her head and she felt like crawling into a hole and dying.

"Chance…come on stop it." Alice looked up to see Rose walking towards them with her bright smile. She had what looked like a gym bag slung over one shoulder. Alice should have known that Rose would be close by…her and the prince had been childhood friends after all.

"Rose, you're late and you two are no better." Behind Rose, Tharja and Len stood with their usual blank expressions, it wasn't like them to be interested in any sort of activity that involved exercise but they were still here. Were all her friends doing boxing? The only one missing was Axel. She almost asked but she remembered the sour look N always got when she spoke of her male friend so she quickly forgot it.

"Sorry Chance." Rose was as carefree as always even when being scolded for being late. "My parents are still very much against the idea of me doing anything dangerous; it took a bit of convincing is all. Alice, I didn't expect to see you and Nate here."

Alice felt even worse, she was not only a 'tiny girl' but now she was also seen by her friends as a tiny girl. Her pathetic hits doing little to impress anyone.

"Tharja, Len. Pair up and warm up." The prince commanded and they followed without complaint, they were twins so anything they did together was gladly accepted. "Rose you can help Alice with her technique. Nate." He turned to N with a firm expression. "You will warm up with me, put the gloves on."

N looked down at the red boxing mitts in his hands for a moment, his mind trying to process just what sort of activity this was. Finally he slipped them on and walked from Alice's side without a word. He was becoming more comfortable with doing things on his own now days and while she was grateful for the level of comfort he showed…she was getting a little uneasy.

It was clingy of her but she didn't want him to run off and leave her behind just yet. She watched N and the prince face each other. She could no longer hear this conversation but just by body language he could see that the prince was showing N how to hit safely and what to do. All the while Rose was watching her watch them with a devious expression.

"Have you developed a crush on our local prince Ali?" She asked with that same happy go lucky tone while Alice all but jumped out of her skin.

"N-Never!" She denied it, shaking her head as roughly as she could without rattling her brain around in her own skull. She still came away a little bit dizzy from the motion though.

"Oh? But why else would you stare as such? The only other person there is Nate, your cousin. Oh Alice that's just not right!" She exclaimed and Alice's face began to burn a brighter red than when she had failed in her punch. It was bad enough she had to deal with Rose's romantic frenzies but to hear implications of incest was just going a bit far.

"I am only worried about him!" She snapped at her in frustration. "Nate hasn't got the most built body in the world and the prince is just so strong."

"Well Chance hasn't got a particularly built body either you know." Alice couldn't deny that, their prince was lean and tall, he looked a lot like N in the shape of his body. He was often cold and withdrawn from others but no one could pick on him because he was just so strong. Still…Alice was worried about N.

She always worried about N even when they weren't doing anything particularly hard.

"You need to worry less. I know you love that cousin of yours but he looks capable…even if his choice in hair colour is a little out there." Rose giggled and Alice sighed. She had almost gotten use to the way people would stare at them…almost. N had always been oblivious to that thought so it was still just her problem.

"You treat him like he is made of glass, like one little touch will make him shatter…" Rose looked to her with a strange expression she just couldn't place immediately. After a moment of study she recognised it as concern. With a stare like that Alice had to look away from her friend, gritting her teeth in frustration as she realised what it was Rose was hinting at. She didn't want to think about that event at all…

"Okay sad sack…! Get ready!" Rose, having realise she crossed a line, turned their attention back onto the fighting and training. Before Alice had a chance to over think what her friend had been talking about Rose made a swipe for her head. Alice yelped and ducked, dodging it but losing her balance as she did. She ended up on her but in seconds flat.

Rose grinned in that cheery nature of hers…she didn't have to be so competitive… Alice got back up and they began their training again. They hadn't even wanted to train so…how did it end up like this?!

Half an hour later and Alice felt like she'd been hit by a bus, Rose hadn't gone easy on her…she was much tougher than Alice had originally thought and she had no issue with hitting her friend when in this situation. Rose was a scary friend to have…

"Rose, I'll take over from here." Alice looked up from where she had landed on her but for the hundredth time that day to see the prince standing there, as calm and collected as ever. He looked a tad bit tired, though she noticed and when she looked to N she could see he was also a little worn out…it seemed he could hold his own against their prince after all, even if it was only training.

Alice could feel her life flashing before her eyes…if she swapped sweet little Rose out for their cold prince in a fight she'd not just be swore but dead! Rose happily bounded off to do her own thing while the prince came to stand in front of her, staring at her with those scary blue eyes.

"You're not a good fighter." He was so blunt…! "You're too small and your hits are too weak." Alice could just feel all of the pride shrivelling up inside of her. "However…I have another idea for you. Remove your gloves." He turned from her as she slipped off the boxing mitts.

A moment later he tossed her a wooden pole. Alice clumsily caught it, stumbling with it a few times before finally getting a good hold on it. The prince got a similar stick of his own and looked at her with those cold eyes of his. "These are training swords, I feel with your small frame and lack of upper body strength these will be of more use to you."….the prince was going to hit her with that?!

Just as the thought occurred to her the prince did indeed swing at her with all of the force that he could muster. Alice screamed and she heard N shout something as well…but then her sword hit his. Opening her eyes slightly she could see she had protected herself by instinct. The prince's usually emotionless face twisted into a scary grin.

"Just as I thought…prepare yourself you will have no other." Rushing at her again he swung the sword at her over and over again, easily knocking her around as Alice desperately tried to keep up and stop the stick from hitting her. He wasn't going easy on her and she could hardly keep up with him and it didn't take long for him to jam the pole against her chest and send her stumbling back a few steps.

"Try harder! I know you can do more than that. Attack!" He demanded and came at her again this time she felt a little more confident. Meeting him with her own sword she found it easier to keep up him, the attacks seemed slower and clearer…she was able to keep up. Alice had never been much good at punch ups…but she had been very good with stick fighting. She remembered her time as a child…she use to spend hours and hours doing nothing more than fighting with her friends.

Friends that were no longer here. She was distracted for a moment by a thought of Rose and Axel as children, all sixteen of them playing stick fighting and just having fun together….sixteen?  
The thought that distracted her ended with her being hit on the shoulder with the prince's sword and earned another sharp scolding from him. Off in the corner she saw N being held off by Rose who looked strangely serious about this.

Strike after strike was blocked by her and as the fight brought up the speed more and more Alice felt heat building up in her body. She felt angry at the prince for saying those things, for hitting her…for everything he was doing. With that in mind she struck out at him. The blow was easily blocked by the prince but she had finally struck back and Alice refused to let him back her into a corner once more.

Gaining back some of the ground she continued to lash out at him with the practice sword the sound of wood meeting again and again in violent slashes being the only sound in her ears asides from her own pounding heart. Alice loved it…she loved to be fighting like this so passionately and with her fear momentarily forgotten she was able to fight properly and finally she saw an opening, drawing back all of the strength she had she slammed the sword into his chest and he fell.

Panting heavily she pointed the sword at the princes face and after realising he wasn't going to attack again she stepped back from him, sure he would be angry. But instead he laughed brightly and rubbed the back of his head, their cold prince actually seemed to be smiling genuinely.

"There we go. That's what I was looking for." Pushing himself off of the ground he pat Alice on the head and ruffled her hair. She didn't feel like blushing when N pat her…but it was still nice to be praised. Think of the devil! N had run up to her and pulled her away from Chance and into his arms.

"What were you thinking? Attacking her like that…" N demanded, not at all happy with Alice having been in danger at all even if it was all friendly competition. Though in his defence Alice had thought the prince intended to concuss her when he started off.

"Like you're one to talk." Looking towards the familiar voice she saw Axel standing there with his own bag over his shoulder. "I thought a little practice on my own would be nice…but everyone is here." He said with a small frown but that frown soon became a confident smile.

"But seeing as you're here how about we let off some steam?" That was directed at N. His arms left Alice's shoulders and he pulled the red mittens back on with his own slight smile.

"If you insist." N was almost as scary as the prince when a challenge was offered. He pointed towards Axel and continued. "We'll have a fight of beliefs then shall we? I win and you'll believe how I see things and apologise for accusing me of tripping Alice."

"Challenge accepted, you're talking like you'll win." Dropping the bag on the ground he walked over to N and they both walked off together, leaving Alice to stare after them worriedly.

"I wouldn't worry." Chance told her while brushing his hair out of his face. "They are both rather competent when it comes to fighting I am sure there is nothing to fret over." Alice noticed him probing his eye just slightly.

"You got something in your eye…?" She asked and his cheeks turned a dark shade of red, he turned away from her as if he could hide the blush that spread over his cheeks.

"Oh-ho? Getting embarrassed about your contacts Chance?" Rose asked suddenly appearing by his side with a lop-sided grin.

"R-Rose!" The prince shouted her name, almost pleading for her to be quiet before he sighed in defeat and looked to Alice with a cold expression that was only ruined by the blushing. "Yeah I wear contacts, so what?"

Alice imagined him with big glasses instead of contacts…and suddenly.

"Ah! That's how you knew!" She pointed at Chance suddenly realising what she had forgotten. "You use to play fight with us as kids. Glasses boy!" Chance's face all but exploded, the whole thing turned bright red and he covered it with one hand trying to play it off cool but Rose's hysterical laughter must have made it hard.

"S-Silence!" He snapped and walked past them angrily. "You should remember people's faces Alice! It's rude!" With that he escaped the gym and left the two best friends to laugh.

Not much later N had come over with Axel, both exhausted and a little scuffed but both had seemed to come to an agreement and while it was still tense they didn't seem to be fighting anymore. After fussing over them both they had all retired for the day.

"You people sure have a painful way of solving problems." N commented as they got on the bus that day. "But, I like it." Alice had been sure he wouldn't approve but when she thought about it, it made lots of sense for N to like it. If people fought pokemon didn't have to.

"It's rare for humans to fight like that in your world…but at least it's better than forcing pokemon to hurt themselves." Alice said and N nodded in agreement. "It might be better if humans and pokemon fought together, a little like mixing the two, truly helping out their team mates."

N said nothing to her, it seemed he was still not on board with the whole humans and pokemon being good for each other idea. So she dropped it and just let him talk about his fight with Axel, the two really let off some of the steam that had built up between them.

….

Alice returned to her room late after finishing feeding her brothers and gone looking for what she was sure she had saved…sure enough there it was. At the bottom of an old shoe box sat a torn and burned picture. Pulling it from the box she stared at it in fascination.

The picture that had been taken by Uncle Oscar showed Alice playing with Rose and Axel as kids. Alice wielding a stick against Axel while Rose egged them on. Off on a picnic basket Vincent watched Elliot imitate them.

When she looked more closely…ah! Sure enough behind Rose was their little prince, his gorgeous face hidden by thick glasses. She had forgotten that they played together as children, when she remember thinking sixteen she rattled off the names of the people in the picture.  
_Alice-1  
Vincent-2  
Elliot-3  
Oscar-4  
Rose-5  
Chace-6  
Axel-7_

That was seven…out of sixteen. She could see a few parts of the picture had been torn away and another burned. Alice noticed Camilla's bag lying on the ground and this was taken when they were still friends so she must have been there, that made up the eight person.

_Camilia-8_

She could just make out a pair of feet off on the left side so that person would be number nine.

_?-9_

Another corner had been entirely torn and little scraps and holes sat in the picture she could see nothing there at all so she couldn't figure out if someone had been in those parts of the picture or not.

_?-10  
?-11  
?-12  
?-13  
?-14  
?-15  
?-16_

That left seven people unaccounted for, in her head she imaged the same picture but…she couldn't see the people's faces. Opening her eyes again she looked at the picture…she couldn't remember why she had hidden it so far away or why it was burned and torn….she just couldn't understand it.

Closing her eyes she sighed softly and placed it under her pillow and wondered about the strange picture. It was probably nothing…but she couldn't seem to remove the thought from her head and in the end she dreamed of the missing seven people.

…..

Me: "So the torn picture is the beginning of the new plot…hmm.."

Alice: "It doesn't make much sense to me…"*Blankly stares at the evil writer.*

Me: "Of course you don't! Because you're my little torture toy for this story." *Pats her on the head.* "And it's only gonna get worse."

N: "Do not touch." *Drags Alice away because he is possessive like that.*

Me: *Blinks.* "Kay…. Oh before I forget I'm not gonna update as fast next time!" *Dodges a knife.* "Oi! If you don't review or do any of that stuff how am I meant to know you want me? Hmm?" *Snickers deviously and runs off to get the next chapter.*


End file.
